Abstract
Sand is an important natural material for the construction of houses, work buildings and other public spaces. This work, which is one of the first contributions to the environmental quality of construction materials, concerns the measurement of natural radioactivity in the lagoon sands collected in the district of Abidjan. Nineteen (19) samples of these sands are analyzed by gamma-ray spectrometry equipped with HPGe detector. The mean values obtained for 226Ra, 232Th and 40K are respectively 7.76 ± 1.84 Bq·kg-1, 5.21 ± 1.36 Bq·kg-1, and 217.31 ± 5.03 Bq·kg-1. The estimated average value of radium equivalent (Raeq) is 31.94 Bq·kg-1. The results show that the average values obtained are far lower than the global limits of 35, 30, and 400 Bq·kg-1 for the concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K, respectively, and 370 Bq·kg-1 for the equivalent radium established by the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR). Therefore, the use of the analyzed lagoon sand samples in the different construction sectors should not cause serious radiological effects on the populations living in the District of Abidjan. Our results provide new data on building materials radioactivity in Côte d’Ivoire and all over the World. They can also be used as a reference for future work.
Highlights
Exposure to ionizing radiation from sources of radioactivity in the environment represents one of the major health risks for human beings
The results show that the average values obtained are far lower than the global limits of 35, 30, and 400 Bq·kg−1 for the concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K, respectively, and 370 Bq·kg−1 for the equivalent radium established by the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR)
Gamma-ray spectrometry is used to measure the activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K present in nineteen samples of lagoon sand used in different constructions in the district of Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire)
Summary
Exposure to ionizing radiation from sources of radioactivity in the environment represents one of the major health risks for human beings. Construction materials represent a permanent source of ionizing radiation because people spend more time (estimated at 80% indoors) in built environments (homes, workplaces and entertainment spaces) [2]. In this context, great interest has been given to determining the levels of radioactivity in building materials in many countries [3]-[10]. Knowledge of the radiological impacts related to construction materials is limited because little study has been dedicated to them compared to other environmental studies In this context, the objective of this work is to assess the levels of natural radioactivity in the lagoon sand samples collected from the District of Abidjan
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