article · Scientific Reports
Natural ophiolitic rocks found along the Marsa Alam to Idfu road in Egypt offer an economical option for radiation shielding due to their high density and ferromagnesian mineral content. Evaluation of mafic metavolcanics, mafic schist, serpentinised peridotites, and hornblende metagabbro-diorite combined laboratory mineralogical testing with experimental gamma-ray measurements and computational simulations. Among the tested lithologies, serpentinised peridotites demonstrated the highest performance in blocking both gamma rays and fast neutrons. This superior shielding capability arises from higher physical density, significant iron oxide levels, and specific mineral assemblies such as serpentine. Computational models closely matched experimental results across tested energy levels from caesium-137 and cobalt-60 sources. These findings confirm that naturally occurring serpentinised rocks possess physical and mineralogical traits that effectively attenuate high-energy radiation, identifying them as the most capable shielding candidates among the evaluated rock types.
Effective radiation shielding is essential for safety in nuclear and industrial settings, but conventional synthetic materials can be costly. Demonstrating that naturally occurring, readily accessible ophiolitic rocks attenuate both gamma rays and neutrons provides an alternative material base. This offers practical insights into using local geological resources to develop cost-effective, durable barriers against hazardous ionizing radiation.
The research indicates that naturally occurring serpentinised peridotites could serve as economical, heavy-aggregate radiation shielding materials for nuclear facilities, medical radiation centres, and industrial containment. Target users include radiation protection engineers, construction contractors for nuclear infrastructure, and shielding material manufacturers. The technology is at an applied laboratory and simulation stage, requiring further engineering scale-up, structural testing, and integration into commercial concrete or block formulations before real-world adoption.
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Abstract Ophiolitic suites derived from oceanic crust are rich in ferromagnesian and mafic minerals and exhibit relatively high densities, making them promising and economical materials for radiation shielding. This study evaluates ophiolitic rocks exposed along the Marsa Alam–Idfu road in the southern Eastern Desert of Egypt as natural radiation shielding materials, including mafic metavolcanics, mafic schist, serpentinite peridotites, and hornblende metagabbro-diorite. Comprehensive geochemical analyses were conducted using polarizing microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to constrain the mineralogical frameworks. Experimental γ-attenuation measurements were performed using a P-HPGe detector for Cs-137 (0.662 MeV) and Co-60 (1.173 and 1.332 MeV) sources. Monte Carlo simulations (MCNP-5) and EpiXs software were also employed to model photon interactions and validate the experimental results. The mineralogical assemblages of the investigated samples which predominantly composed of serpentine, chlorite, amphibole, plagioclase, talc, and carbonates, play a key role in controlling their radiation shielding properties. Geochemically, the rocks display a major oxide compositional range from ultramafic to mafic. Serpentinized peridotites, in particular, exhibit high MgO content and low silica, while mafic metavolcanics and schists are rich in Al 2 O 3 and FeO. Radiation shielding results showed that the linear attenuation coefficients (µ) exhibited a pronounced decline with increasing photon energy, controlled by photoelectric and Compton interactions, with serpentinized peridotites showing the highest attenuation due to its greater density and high iron oxide content. Simulated and experimentally calculated µ values showed strong agreement (φ = 2.431%), while experimental results were slightly higher, with deviations ranging from − 3.6% to − 9.2%. The obtained trends of attenuation coefficient, half-value layer, tenth-value layer, effective atomic number, and radiation protection efficiency (RP eff ) further confirmed the energy-dependent attenuation behavior, identifying serpentinized peridotites as the most efficient γ-ray shielding material among the investigated rocks. Furthermore, Neutron-shielding assessment revealed that serpentinized peridotites exhibited the highest fast neutron removal cross-Sect. (0.097 cm − 1 ) and the lowest half-value layer (7.121 cm) and relaxation length (10.273 cm), indicating superior neutron attenuation performance among the investigated lithologies.
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DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-66379-3
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