Effect of human body position on gamma radiation dose rate from granite stones.

Abstract

The use of granite stones as building materials in homes or offices can result in the residents' long-term whole-body exposure to gamma radiation. Although the whole-body annual dose has been investigated in the literature, it is obvious that different human organs receive different equivalent dose due to different position respect to the walls and floor covered by granite stones. In this paper, the effect of distance from the walls and floor of a room on the equivalent dose is investigated by using MCNPX code. An "ORNL" phantom is simulated in three situations; standing (P1), sleeping one meter above the floor (P2) and sleeping on the floor (P3) and the equivalent dose in different organs is calculated. Excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) is calculated in the whole of the body for these three positions. By the results, the value of ELCR in the third position is more than the average world value (2.9 × 10-4). The results show the importance of considering body position in dose determination, especially in some organs such as the brain and eyes which are close to the granite stones in certain positions such as sleeping.