Use of Gamma-Ray Spectrometry for Assessment of Natural Radioactive Dose in Some Samples of Building Materials

Abstract

Samples of building materials (Granite, Bricks, Sand Stones) collected from Jalandhar area of  Punjab have been analyzed for the primordial natural radionuclides viz. 226Ra, 232Th and 40K using HPGe detector based on high-resolution gamma spectrometry system. The calculated average values of the total absorbed dose are 253.91 nGyh-1, 74.86 nGyh-1 and 93.79 nGyh-1 for samples of granite, bricks and sandstones respectively. The average values of indoor and outdoor annual effective dose for the present study of samples of granite, bricks and sandstones are 1.25 mSv and 0.31 mSv, 0.37 mSv and 0.09 mSv and 0.46 mSv and 0.12 mSv respectively. The calculated average value of the radium equivalent activity (Raeq) for samples of bricks and sandstones are less and this value is higher for the granite samples than the safe limit (370Bq kg-1) recommended by Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).