Lead apron question

[edrw]

Can the lead be removed from a lead apron used by dentists? The only piece that appears to be lead feels like rubber.

[evan price]

The ones that I have taken had the lead powdered and mixed with the sheet rubber inside the apron. TO separate it would require melting down and burning off the rubber in entirety. It would be a messy, smokey, nasty chore and in the end you won't get very much lead at all.
IMHO, not worth it.

[edrw]

That's what I thought, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something. Thanks for the answer.

[lwknight]

The amazing trhing about the lead aprons is that it is a joke! Its totally a feel good thing for ignorant people.

The lead shielding that we use in nuke power plants are blankets about 1' wide , 3' long and about 1" thick. They weigh about 60 pounds and reduce the amount of radiation by exactly 1/2. That apron might cut like something less than 10 peercent.

To actually protect someone from exposure , they would have to pile probably 600 pounds of lead on them.

[skohler]

Just tried an experiment- I use digital xrays and not the old lead foil type. Took an xray of a metal clip on the xray sensor- came out fully outlined and as expected. Same shot using same setting and distance but laid a patient lead apron over top of the sensor. I would say it blocked at least 98%, if we messed with the contrast were able to barely make out the metal on the computer screen so I can't say it blocked 100%. I would not say that the patient aprons are a joke, they function as intended. In a dental setting the xrays won't even go through drywall.

Can't comment on a nuclear power plant, my guess is that there is slightly more radiation going on:razz:

[edler7]

Can't comment on a nuclear power plant, my guess is that there is slightly more radiation going on

Lead aprons are intended for diagnostic imaging outputs and energies, and do their job well...not 100%, but well into the 90+% range. Some states require they be inspected and tested yearly for integrity and shielding ability. The lead in them is ground to a powder and mixed with rubber or vinyl. Never tried to melt one down, but I imagine it would be a stinky, smokey mess for not much lead. I suppose you could simulate melting one down by throwing a few hand fulls of valve stems in your pot with about a dozen wheel weights.

The radiation in a power plant is a whole different animal, much higher volumes and energy range than diagnostic plus particles like neutrons which lead doesn't shield very well. Water, concrete (actually the water used to hydrate the concrete) and boron glass work much better for neutron shielding.