diff --git a/Framework/Kernel/src/MaterialBuilder.cpp b/Framework/Kernel/src/MaterialBuilder.cpp
index 5947206214bcc5d882857f9cefeecfa4c23b0975..358e8e2b0c97dd43f77c79c4913e039bdb810eea 100644
--- a/Framework/Kernel/src/MaterialBuilder.cpp
+++ b/Framework/Kernel/src/MaterialBuilder.cpp
@@ -217,7 +217,9 @@ MaterialBuilder &MaterialBuilder::setAbsorptionXSection(double xsec) {
  */
 MaterialBuilder &
 MaterialBuilder::setAttenuationProfileFilename(std::string filename) {
-  m_attenuationProfileFileName = filename;
+  if (!filename.empty()) {
+    m_attenuationProfileFileName = filename;
+  }
   return *this;
 }