Shielding behaviors of some polymer and plastic materials for gamma-rays

•PVC own better attenuation than NBS-Concrete for 10–110 keV γ-rays.•GRIC-toolkit capable to compute γ-ray interaction coefficients.•GRIC-toolkit can compute coefficients in wide energy range 1 keV–100 GeV.

Gamma-rays interaction parameters with six polymer and plastic materials have been computed and investigated for their shielding behaviours in the experimental energy range 10–1400 keV. Low mass-density and ability to transform into thin-sheets of H-containing plastic and polymer materials generate the curiosity for present study. Gamma Ray Interaction Coefficients (GRIC)-toolkit: a computer program designed in MS-Excel, 2007 for the investigation. The toolkit has the capability to compute different parameters linked to shielding properties of the sample-material such that; mass attenuation coefficients (μ/ρ), mass energy absorption coefficients (μen/ρ), equivalent atomic number (Zeq), KERMA (kinetic energy released per unit mass). Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) seems to be the best shield for gamma radiations in energy range 10–110 keV. The interaction parameters for selected samples have been computed and provided in the extended energy range 0.015–15 MeV.