Radiological dose assessment of naturally occurring radioactive materials in concrete building materials

Abstract

Previous studies have shown that the natural radioactivity contained in building materials have significantly influenced the dose rates in dwelling. Exposure to natural radiation in building has been of concerned since almost 80 % of our daily live are spend indoor. Thus, the aim of the study is to assess the radiological risk associated by natural radioactivity in soil based building materials to dwellers. A total of 13 Portland cement, 46 sand and 43 gravel samples obtained from manufacturers or bought directly from local hardware stores in Peninsular of Malaysia were analysed for their radioactivity concentrations. The activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K in the studied building materials samples were found to be in the range of 3.7–359.3, 2.0–370.8 and 10.3–1,949.5 Bq kg−1 respectively. The annual radiation dose rates (μSv year−1) received by dwellers were evaluated for 1 to 50 years of exposure using Resrad-Build Computer Code based on the activity concentration of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K found in the studied building material samples. The rooms modelling were based on the changing parameters of concrete wall thickness and the room dimensions. The annual radiation dose rates to dwellers were found to increase annually over a period of 50 years. The concrete thicknesses were found to have significantly influenced the dose rates in building. The self-absorption occurred when the concrete thickness was thicker than 0.4 m. Results of this study shows that the dose rates received by the dwellers of the building are proportional to the size of the room. In general the study concludes that concrete building materials; Portland cements, sands, and gravels in Peninsular of Malaysia does not pose radiological hazard to the building dwellers.