A new lead-free radiation shielding material for radiotherapy

Lead has recently been recognised as a source of environmental pollution, including the lead used for radiation shielding in radiotherapy. The bremsstrahlung radiation caused by the interaction between the electron beam and lead may reduce the accuracy of radiotherapy. To avoid the use of lead, a new material composed of tungsten and hydrogenated styrene-butadiene-styrene copolymer is studied with the Monte Carlo (MC) method and experiment in this paper. The component of the material is chosen after simulation with the MC method and the practical measurement is taken to validate the shielding ability of the material. The result shows that the shielding ability of the new material is good enough to fulfill the requirement for application in radiotherapy. Compared with lead alloy, the present new material is so flexible that can be easily customised into arbitrary shapes. Moreover, the material is environmentally friendly and can be recycled conveniently. Therefore, the material can be used as an effective lead substitute for shielding against electron beams in radiotherapy.