Abstract
Natural radioactivity in various types of marbles available in Rawalpindi/Islamabad industrial area have been assessed using HP(Ge) gamma-ray spectrometer. The concentration of 40K, 226Ra and 232Th ranges from 6.15 to 159.65 Bq.kg-1, 1.45 to 29.34 Bq.kg-1 and 1.16 to 6.28 Bq.kg-1, respectively. The radium equivalent activity lies between 5.56 to 33.42 Bq.kg-1. The average external and internal indices have been found to be 0.03 and 0.05, respectively. The average absorbed dose rate at 1 m was found to be 6.53 nGy.h-1. The estimated annual effective dose rate for whole body was found to be 0.04 mSv.y-1. These values are smaller than those predicted by UNSCEAR for normal background areas. The marbles analyzed pose less health hazard as compared to Pakistani baked bricks and other construction materials.
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