Not much because Gamma rays are passing through the earth right now as I type but i think that lead can block some or most of it.
Cancer radiation treatments
Gamma (y)
Of alpha, beta and gamma radiation, gamma radiation has the greater ability to penetrate either shielding or living tissue. The penetration issue aside, a contact source that is an alpha emitter can do more tissue damage than beta or gamma radiation. Alpha and beta radiation are particulate radiation. They involve a particle. Gamma radiation is electromagnetic radiation of high energy. Use the links below to learn more about each type of radiation and get a handle on what's up.
We use gamma rays to irradiate food and kill organisms on it that might cause it to spoil quickly.
Radiation can come from a machine outside the body (external-beam radiation therapy) or from radioactive material placed in the body near cancer cells (internal radiation therapy, more commonly called brachytherapy). Systemic radiation therapy uses a radioactive substance, given by mouth or into a vein, that travels in the blood to tissues throughout the body. radiations are emitted by a radiator,and in some cases a receiver is placed after the body and radiator.
Lead That's why they use Lead Shielding for radiation
since gamma radiation can penetrate more they are used in kidney scanners
The typical use for human-generated gamma radiation is in medical procedures, such as the "gamma knife" cancer therapy treatments.
Cancer radiation treatments
The gamma radiation is very penetrant in biological tissues.
Gamma (y)
The material that is most usually used to stop radiation is lead. Lead is composed of large atoms, being a heavy element with a high atomic number, and it is therefore quite opaque to radiation of all sorts. There are many other heavy elements which can stop radiation, however, lead is the most easily available. You can use platinum as well, but it is thousands of times more expensive than lead.
Gamma rays emitted by the radioisotope cobalt-60 have been found to be very effective in treating some forms of cancer.
Gamma-rays are extremely high-energy photons and VERY dangerous. It is the worse form of atomic radiation of the 3 types of radioactive decay, and destroys living tissue and DNA.
No, Tyvek is not a good gamma ray blocker. We know that Tyvek is HDPE (high-density polyethylene), and KDPE is a hydrocarbon. Even though it is "high density" material, it is only high density compared to other poly plastics. The best gamma ray blockers are materials with high mass. Atoms with high atomic numbers and high density are the ones we need to block gamma rays. Carbon and hydrogen don't fit the bill. Tyvek is a poor choice for gamma ray shielding. What is a good choice for gamma ray shielding? We might choose lead 'cause it's cheap and easy to use as well as a good gamma blocker. Certainly concrete and dirt work fairly well as we can get a lot of that stuff together to provide gamma shielding.
Of alpha, beta and gamma radiation, gamma radiation has the greater ability to penetrate either shielding or living tissue. The penetration issue aside, a contact source that is an alpha emitter can do more tissue damage than beta or gamma radiation. Alpha and beta radiation are particulate radiation. They involve a particle. Gamma radiation is electromagnetic radiation of high energy. Use the links below to learn more about each type of radiation and get a handle on what's up.
It can be used in radiation therapy to treat cancer as the high-energy gamma rays can kill tumour cells. Source: I am a Nuclear Physicist working in MIT