E-shots Web-exclusive: Radiation shielding goes green

During the late-November Radiological Society of North America's RSNA 2007 conference and exhibition at Chicago's McCormick Place, a new company celebrated its launch amid intense interest from attendees. Green Shielding Solutions (www.greenshielding.com), a joint venture between Thogus Products (Avon Lake, OH; see immnet.com/articles/2007/September/3350) and Vulcan Global Manufacturing Solutions (Milwaukee, WI), intends to focus on lead-free, tungsten-filled polymer solutions to radiation shielding applications such as X-ray equipment, CT scanning devices, and nuclear medicine. Services will include engineering, application development, testing, preprototype, prototype, and production.

Matt Hlavin, a principal of Green Shielding Solutions, tells IMM, “RoHS directives have yet to be applied directly to medical devices, but leading OEMs in the industry are pursuing lead-free alternatives now so that they can be in compliance before regulations become an issue. In Europe, RoHS regulations may limit the use of lead as early as 2010, and while the U.S. is considering similar legislation on a state-by-state basis, early adopters know that having the solution now offers a huge competitive advantage in the marketplace.”

RoHS, or Restriction of Hazardous Substances, is a directive enacted by the European Union that restricts the use of six materials classified as potentially hazardous, including lead.According to Hlavin, tungsten and lead are the two most commonly used elements for cost effective radiation shielding. “We have already converted over 50 parts from lead to tungsten-filled polymer,” he adds, noting also that testing at 120 kV, both on prototypes and actual products already in use, has proven that Green Shielding Solutions' products provide shielding attenuation equivalent to lead. The company will be headquartered in Avon Lake, OH.