ASIX (X-RAY APRON): COMPOSITE BOARD SYNTHESIS FROM

PLASTIC WASTE, WOOD POWDER AND LEAD ACETATE

(PB(CH3COO)2) AS X-RAY APRON RADIATION

Lana Milatul Khusna

Fakultas Sains dan Matematika
Universitas Diponegoro

Indonesia ranked second in the world after China as a producer of plastic

waste which reach 187.2 million tons (Jenna, 2015). It is estimated that the total
amount of waste in Indonesia in 2019 will reach 68 million tons, and plastic waste
will reach 9.52 million tons or 14 percent of the total waste (Purwaningrum,
2016). If there is more plastic being wasted in Indonesia, it will potentially pollute
the environment.

Plastics are not originated from biological compounds, so they are difficult
to degrade (non-biodegradable) (Purwaningrum, 2016). It takes 100 to 500 years
for plastic to be completely decomposed (Ahmann and Dorgan, 2007). So far
plastic waste has been widely used and processed further but the act to reduce the
number of plastic waste is still very difficult. Therefore further research is needed
to reduce plastic waste, one of which is an alternative apron material that can
protect workers in radiology work units (medical) and industrial work units (non-
medical) from X-ray radiation.

Apron is a device used as a shield or protective material against X-ray

radiation (Aji et all, 2014). The use of aprons is often used by workers who work
in the radiology unit as a radiographer, airport goods security officer and
industrial sector that utilizes X-ray technology (McCaffrey et all, 2007; Lat et all,
2016). The working principle of an apron is to reduce the intensity of radiation
that will affect radiation workers. Each beam of X-ray radiation that touch the
material will interact with the material so that some part of the intensity will be
absorbed and some will be continued. In addition to accommodating the main
function as a radiation absorber, the radiation protection apron has other
supporting properties such as strong and comfortable when used so that the apron
is suitable to wear (Atmojo et all¸ 2007). The material used in the apron mostly
uses lead metal, the lead metal are used because it has a high atomic number (Z =
82) that can reduce the intensity of X-rays (Widowati, 2008; Lat et all, 2016; Shik
and Gholamazadeh, 2018). However, the use of lead metal as an apron has several
disadvantages, namely its very rigid shape, easily bent if dropped, cannot follow
the shape of the body so it is less comfortable to wear, has a heavy size and is
toxic to human health and the environment (Aji et all, 2014; Shik and
Gholamazadeh, 2018; La et all, 2016).

Processing plastic waste as an apron is the right solution because plastic

material has a lighter mass than lead metal. To strengthen the apron material,
additional material needed to be used, namely wood powder from the wood
processing industry. Wood powder is a waste material that has good tensile
strength and bending strength besides making the apron material become denser
(Cahyandari, 2007). From the results of observations in the field, the waste that
sawmills produced are only discarded or burned without further processing.

Additional material that can be added to the waste plastic-based apron and
wood-based waste is Lead Acetate (Pb(CH3COO)2) in powder form. The use of
lead acetate in powder form has several advantages, which can increase the
absorption of X-ray radiation in an amount that is not too much by making
powder size into nano size, can be mixed evenly with waste plastic and wood
powder material, and economically much cheaper and environmentally friendly
compared to using solid lead metal. In theory, the addition of lead acetate in the
form of nano size can increase the linear coefficient of X-ray attenuation, this is
because lead acetate powder will close small spaces that cannot be maximally
closed by wood powder or plastic waste. (Bandyupadhyay, 2008; Fitriawan,
2014).

Based on the various facts above, the author initiated a solution in the form
of ASIX (X-ray Apron): Composite Board Synthesis from Plastic Waste, Wood
Powder and Lead Acetate (Pb(CH3COO)2) as X-ray Apron Radiation. The hope is
that using plastic waste and wood powder as X-ray aprons can reduce
environmental pollution and as an alternative X-ray apron material that is
environmentally friendly and meets radiation protection standards.