Barium Sulfate–Cement Composites as a Sustainable Lead-Free Solution for Diagnostic X-Ray Shielding

_ The demand for non-toxic radiation shielding materials has increased due to environmental and occupational health concerns associated with lead-based barriers. Recent advances in composite materials have demonstrated that barium sulfate (BaSO₄) can serve as an effective attenuator for ionizing radiation, particularly in diagnostic energy ranges [1,3]. In this study, BaSO₄–cement composites were fabricated with varying thicknesses (0.2–1.0 cm) and evaluated under X-ray energies of 46 kV and 70 kV. The results revealed a significant decrease in transmitted dose with increasing thickness and BaSO₄ concentration, consistent with previous findings on composite shielding systems [2,21]. The 1 cm sample demonstrated the highest attenuation efficiency. In addition to performance, the study highlights the economic and environmental advantages of using locally available barite resources [5,20]. These findings support the feasibility of BaSO₄-based composites as sustainable alternatives to lead shielding.