Determination of mass attenuation coefficients of some boron ores at 59.54 keV by using scintillation detector

The mass attenuation coefficients of the 59.54 key radiation of (241)Am point source in boron ores such as tincal, ulexite and colemanite were determined experimentally by a scintillation detector and theoretically. Since boron ores contain boron, hydrogen, and a lot of elements, they may be used as shielding against neutrons and gammas simultaneously, e.g. for shielding (241)Am/Be neutron sources, as they emit both gammas and neutrons. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.