[yor_on (OP)]

"At first the small research group studied metal shielding, but that turned out to be just one of numerous dead ends. Lead is toxic, heavy and bulky, so that was out. Says DeMeo: “Copper and aluminum showed some [shielding] response, but nothing overly useful. Later we worked on embedding metal particles in fabric and obtained a few patents in that area. Then we got involved with trying to find polymers that attenuate radiation.” After considerable fruitless effort, the RST team came up with a polymer composite of polyurethane and polyvinylchloride that incorporates a variety of organic and inorganic salt particles that block radiation.

Constituents of these salts have high atomic numbers (the number of protons in an atom of a particular element), so they tend to arrest radiation more effectively. “Our material looks and behaves like a heavy, dense rubber,” DeMeo says. Demron works in two ways, depending on the type of radiation. When x-rays or gamma rays meet these dispersed salt particles, DeMeo explains, they are either absorbed (via the photoelectric effect) and their energy dissipated through the generation of heat, or they are scattered at an altered energy level (via the Compton effect) and then absorbed or deflected by surrounding particles. This cascade of absorption and scattering stops harmful radiation from penetrating to body tissues. When alpha and beta particles strike Demron, intervening electrons in the salt atoms deflect and slow them down, whereupon they are absorbed into the material."

So it seems to be some types of salt?
=

Btw: this should mean they they are one time wear item, to be discarded after that too, right?
Makes me think of the German salt mines /nuclear waste deposits. Wonder if this was a consideration they made?