Impact of polymer, nanomaterial, and rubber modification on the radioactivity and radiation shielding performance of bitumen

Abstract Natural radiation levels of bitumen are vital in understanding the potential health risks associated with exposure. The presence of radioactive elements in bitumens can impact environmental and human health. For this reason, in the current study, the natural radiation levels ( 238 U, 232 Th and 40 K radionuclides) of bitumen samples used in various modified materials were determined. It has been determined that the available samples do not carry any risk to human health in terms of radioactivity. Besides, polymer modified bitumen (PMB) has shown promise as a potential radiation shielding material due to its inherent properties and the flexibility it offers in engineering applications. Therefore, if the modified bitumens are to be used as a shielding material, it is necessary to determine their radiation shielding properties such as linear attenuation coefficients (LAC), mass attenuation coefficients (MAC), half value layer (HVL) and tenth value layer (TVL). In the present study, these values were calculated using 241 Am gamma ray source in a radiation absorption experimental setup. It was found that the samples have shown good shielding properties for low-energy gamma radiation.