| Summary: | The gamma-ray shielding ability of various Bentonite–Cement mixed materials from northeast Egypt have been examined by determining their theoretical and experimental mass attenuation coefficients, μ<sub>m</sub> (cm<sup>2</sup>g<sup>−1</sup>), at photon energies of 59.6, 121.78, 344.28, 661.66, 964.13, 1173.23, 1332.5 and 1408.01 keV emitted from <sup>241</sup>Am, <sup>137</sup>Cs, <sup>152</sup>Eu and <sup>60</sup>Co point sources. The μ<sub>m</sub> was theoretically calculated using the chemical compositions obtained by Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis (EDX), while a NaI (Tl) scintillation detector was used to experimentally determine the μ<sub>m</sub> (cm<sup>2</sup>g<sup>−1</sup>) of the mixed samples. The theoretical values are in acceptable agreement with the experimental calculations of the XCom software. The linear attenuation coefficient (μ), mean free path (MFP), half-value layer (HVL) and the exposure buildup factor (EBF) were also calculated by knowing the μ<sub>m</sub> values of the examined samples. The gamma-radiation shielding ability of the selected Bentonite–Cement mixed samples have been studied against other puplished shielding materials. Knowledge of various factors such as thermo-chemical stability, availability and water holding capacity of the bentonite–cement mixed samples can be analyzed to determine the effectiveness of the materials to shield gamma rays.
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