Radiation can be dangerous so protection is important. Big, chunky white suits are the staple of pop culture but how about eggshells? Yes, eggshells it turns out can act as armor in places where radiation is intense, thanks to a project carried out at the Hitit University in central Turkey's Çorum that was focused on producing alternative materials for radiation protection.

The "Radiation Shielding Product Development Project Using Different Nanomaterials" was prepared by Pelin Bayaner, a student of the Nuclear Technology and Radiation Safety Program of the Electricity and Energy Department of the university, under the supervision of associate professor Seyfi Şevik from the Faculty of Technical Sciences Vocational School.

The laboratory studies of the project, which is carried out with cooperation between the university and industry, have been completed, and Şevik stated that they have developed a new armoring product using eggshells, graphene, copper, aluminum, calcium and silicon carbide within the scope of the work they carried out with the support of the firm 4D Machinery and Technology operating in Çorum.

Şevik said that lead is the most used material in the shielding method used to protect against the harmful effects of radiation rays in the world.

"Walls, floors and other surfaces in X-ray rooms are equipped against radiation with lead sheets with a purity of nearly 100%. However, in recent years, many studies have been carried out to develop an alternative product to lead, which is very costly and unhealthy," he said.

"Within the scope of our project, we have developed a radiation armor with new material and geometry that can take the place of lead. We think that the new materials we produce can be an alternative to lead," he outlined.

Şevik explained that they produced the newly developed materials in two different sizes, 5 and 10 millimeters (0.19 and 0.39 inches), in order to understand their effect on radiation.

"Among these materials, we found that the new shielding product we developed from eggshells has the feature that absorbs radiation the most or reduces its permeability. We found that the 10-millimeter material we developed using eggshells reduces radiation by 59.61%," he said.

Bayaner emphasized that many studies have been carried out in the industry to prevent radiation, and that they aim to protect health workers against radioactivity in the most economical way in their own projects.

Bünyamin Çiçek, one of the 4D Machinery and Technology firm representatives, emphasized that the project they supported as a company resulted in success.

"The production cost and duration of the new armoring products we have developed within the scope of the project are very low. While these types of materials are produced at very high prices due to the use of the machining method, we have demonstrated that it can be produced at a cost 100 times cheaper with the means of 3D printers," Çiçek explained.