Investigation of radiation shielding features for some types of commercial granites collected from Saudi Arabia

In this study, various commercial granites were collected from Saudi Arabia to explore radiation shielding features. Five samples were collected, namely, GIT2, GC7, GI3, GC8, and GC1, and their density ranged from 2.5861 to 2.7557 g/cm 3 . The weight fraction for each sample was defined using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). A narrow gamma-ray source and sodium iodide (NaI) detector for various energies varying from 0.184 and 0.810 MeV were used to measure the mass attenuation coefficient (MAC) experimentally. The results of (MAC) exp were compared with the theoretical values to affirm the experimental accuracy procedure, and the obtained results showed excellent matching between the experimental and theoretical results at all examined energies. The linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) for GIT2, GC7, GI3, GC8, and GC1 is 30.848, 20.298, 23.878, 22.967, and 21.556 cm −1 . The GTI2 samples showed the highest gamma shielding properties than other granite samples, while fast neutron removal cross-section (FRCS) ranged from 0.089 to 0.098 cm −1 for GC8 and GI3. Besides, some radiation shielding parameters for current granites were compared with other rock utilized in other countries, and the current samples displayed excellent radiation shielding features that nominate present granite as a radiation shielding substance.