Utilization of steel slag from industrial waste for ionizing radiation shielding concrete: A systematic review

•Steel slag aggregate can be used for concrete admixture of radiation shielding.•Characterization of steel slag from different countries are reported.•The mix design scenario with different percentage of steel slag is summarized.•Concrete containing steel slag has higher mechanical and shielding properties.•Effect of steel slag on gamma and neutron shielding performance is highlighted. Steel slag is a steel industry byproduct that increases in volume as global steel production expands. The steel slag application as natural aggregate replacement in the production of shielding concrete continues to spread. Besides minimizing the negative impact on the environment, the use of steel slag mixtures proved to enhance the performance of concrete as an ionizing radiation shielding. Despite having many advantages, applying steel slag in concrete shielding has several drawbacks. Therefore, this review was carried out to see and map the research effort on steel slag utilization in shielding concrete through the systematic review method and bibliometric analysis. The SCOPUS and Science Direct database screening resulted in the exclusion of 26 studies. This review discusses the characterization of various forms and origins of steel slag, the mix design and mechanical properties of concrete shielding steel slag, and microstructural analysis. The test findings for gamma radiation 60Co, 137Cs, 241Am, and neutron source of 252Cf and Ambe were also discussed in depth. An extensive literature review concluded that adding steel slag to concrete for shielding gamma and neutron radiation can increase compressive and tensile strength but reduce workability. Compared to conventional concrete, steel slag concrete's linear attenuation and removal cross-section is higher, while the half-value layer (HVL) is minimized. However, steel slag composition can expand the volume, diminishing radiation shielding performance at high temperatures. This systematic review gives a comprehensive overview of research gaps and possibilities and will likely encourage researchers to participate in these investigations.