Evaluation of natural radioactivity and its radiation hazards in some building and decorative materials in Iraq

Abstract EN

Twenty-nine samples of different types of building materials such as bricks, cement, ceramic, granite, gravel, marble, paint, plaster, sand and soil were analyzed by a gamma spectrometer based on HPGe detector.

The total average contents of 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K for all the building samples are 35.26 Bq kg-1, 26.99 Bq kg-1, and 321.19 Bq kg-1 respectively.

The estimated radium equivalent activities (Raeq), representative index (Iγ), absorbed γ-dose rate, external and internal hazard indices and the annual effective dose equivalent (AEDE) are lower than the recommended safe limit 1 mSy-1.

The results indicated that all the building materials in Iraq are safe except the materials that used as decorative materials that have to be regulated