There is no scientific evidence to prove cow dung is an effective shielding material against nuclear radiation - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 13, 2023
A video is being shared on social media claiming that cow dung is a good shielding material against nuclear radiation and can protect people during a nuclear war. The background audio in the video describes that cow dung can absorb alpha, beta, and gamma rays and claims that the scientific evidence had already proven that houses coated with cow dung remain unaffected by nuclear radiation. Also, the video mentions onions as another good shielding material against nuclear radiation. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Cow dung can absorb alpha, beta and gamma rays and acts as a good shielding material against nuclear radiation.
Fact: There is no scientific evidence to prove that cow dung can absorb alpha, beta and gamma rays and protect people from nuclear radiation. Usually during radiation emergencies (a large scale of release of radioactive material in the environment), it is advised to follow the radiation safety guiding principle As Low As Reasonably Achievable(ALARA). Lead (Pb) and conventional shielding materials like concrete are usually used to reduce the exposure rate of gamma or X-ray radiation. Neither cow dung nor onions were scientifically regarded as shielding materials against nuclear radiation. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
To confirm the veracity of the claims made in the post, we have looked for relevant scientific studies. Generally, nuclear radiation refers to the energy and particles that are emitted from the nucleus of an atom during various processes, such as radioactive decay or nuclear reactions. The energy emitted by the nucleus of an unstable atom, during a nuclear fission or fusion, can be in the form of tiny, fast-moving particles (alpha, beta, and neutrons) or pulsating magnetic rays or waves (gamma rays).
During a radiation emergency (a large release of radioactive material in the environment), which typically arises following the detonation of a nuclear weapon or a nuclear power plant accident, it is universally advised to follow the radiation safety guiding principle ‘As Low As Reasonably Achievable’ (ALARA). ALARA means avoiding exposure to radiation by following three basic protective measures in radiation safety. They are time, distance, and shielding. During a large-scale radiological release, it is advised to minimize the time of exposure, increase the distance from the source and use effective shielding materials to minimize the radiation effects on the body.
Lead (Pb) and conventional shielding materials like concrete are generally used to reduce the exposure rate of gamma or X-ray radiation. Barriers of lead, concrete, or water will provide good protection from penetrating gamma rays and X-rays. Indian Government’s Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) too mentioned materials with high atomic numbers (Z) like lead, steel, and concrete as good shielding materials against radiation. No scientific study mentioned cow dung as one of the shielding materials used to protect against atomic radiation.
The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying described several benefits of cow dung on their website but they did not mention cow dung as a shielding material against radiation.
In January 2023, while sentencing a 22-year-old man to life imprisonment for illegally transporting cattle in January 2023, a sessions judge in Gujarat’s Tapi district court said, “Science has proved houses made of cow dung remain unaffected by atomic radiation”. Several news sites reported these comments of a Gujarat Court Judge that houses coated with cow dung remain unaffected by nuclear radiation.
Similar mythical claims about the utility of cow dung were made in 2020 by Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog (RKA) Chairman Vallabhbhai Kathiria. He claimed that cow dung chips can block harmful radiation from cell phones and said it is scientifically proven. The Breakthrough Science Society and many scientists slammed these statements by Vallabhai Kathiria and said that a politically motivated RKA was pushing pseudo-science by claiming that keeping cow dung cake on mobile phones was effective against radiation.
In 2011, KN Uttam, a professor in the Physics Department and a former employee in the Ministry of Science and Technology and MHRD, said that traditional methods like keeping onions in pockets and applying a layer of cow dung on the outside of the walls of houses can absorb the harmful gamma rays. But there is no scientific evidence to support his claims about onions and cow dung can be used as shielding materials against radiation. Dr S Krishnaswamy, a senior professor of Bioinformatics from Madurai Kamaraj University, said, “While cow dung might have some antiseptic properties, there is no record of it preventing any sort of radiation.”
To sum it up, there is no scientific evidence to prove cow dung is an effective shielding material against atomic radiation.