Effect of windows and doors on the gamma shielding factor for typical houses in Brazil

This study aims to determine the effect of windows and doors on shielding factors, defined as the ratios of the air kerma indoor to the air kerma in an open field, for typical building materials used in the southeast of Brazil due to radioactive material deposited on the surrounding field, walls, and ceiling external surfaces. The MCNP5 Monte Carlo radiation transport code was used in the simulation of photon shielding. The air kerma indoors for monoenergetic photons of 300 keV, 662 keV, and 3,000 keV has been determined for three different housing patterns, ranging from a poorly constructed house, at a density thickness of 5.5 g cm(-2) for the walls, to a well-constructed house, at a density thickness of 13.1 g cm(-2) for the walls, both with and without the presence of windows and doors. The shielding factor for the poorly constructed house type at an incident photon energy of 300 keV was found to be twice that of the well-constructed house type for the same energy. The presence of windows and doors showed very little or no significant increase on the shielding factors for the building materials studied. The maximum increase was found to be 9% for the well-constructed house type at a incident photon energy of 300 keV.