Abstract
The objective of the present study is the screening of the gross alpha and gross beta activity of some building materials commercialized in Saudi Arabia. The measurements were carried out using a gas flow proportional counter. The study has shown that the gross alpha activity ranged between 0.21 and 8.27 Bq/kg with an average activity of about 1.96 Bq/kg, whereas the gross beta activity ranged between 6.47 and 276.47 Bq/kg with an average activity of about 65.27 Bq/kg. The obtained values of gross alpha and beta activities are in the worldwide range and no significant activity was observed that accentuate the attention, which show that no radiation risks come from these building materials and, therefore, from their origin areas.
Highlights
All building materials contain radionuclides at different levels because of natural presence. ese materials are used essentially for the construction of human dwellings, so they contribute to an additional radioactivity, which increases the radiation exposure [6] on human. ereby, it is necessary to determine the amount of activity level in these materials and monitor them
In this work, the gross alpha and beta activities in many samples of different building materials commercialized in Saudi Arabia markets by using a gas flow proportional counter in order to give an order of magnitude of radioactivity in these materials
E natural radioactivity in the soil and rocks and in building materials is generally due to the presence of 210Pb (238U) and 228Ra (232 ), which are the major contributors of beta activity [16] as well as 40K, whereas the alpha activity is essentially due to the heavy radionuclides such as radium [16], actinium, and thorium as well as their progenies
Summary
There are many natural and artificial sources of radioactivity [1]. e earth and atmosphere are the two principal natural sources. e natural radionuclides originate from uranium (238U) and thorium (232 ) series as well as potassium (40K), whereas the artificial radionuclides, such as 137Cs, generally come from a nuclear accident. ese radionuclides are widely spread in the earth and it is present in various forms whose abundances differ significantly depending on the local geological features of each region [2, 3]. ey can pass from the earth’s crust to the surface, where they become natural sources of radiations. e radionuclides can be transferred to humans by different pathways such as by ingestion (radionuclides in food, water, or beverages), by inhalation of radon, which represents about50% of natural exposure of people [3], and by dermal adsorption (radionuclides can enter the body through a wounded skin). There are many natural and artificial sources of radioactivity [1]. Monitoring of the radioactive elements in the environment and the determination of radioactivity level for different matrices, concerning the human, are very important and fundamental for human health maintenance [4]. The determination of the activity level of natural radioactive nuclides in soils, rocks, and in building materials gives knowledge of the natural sources and the amount of radioactivity in a given region. All building materials contain radionuclides at different levels because of natural presence. Many methods are used to determine the activity level in many matrices such as soil, rocks, water, beverages, and building materials. E gross alpha and beta measurement is one of the radioanalytical techniques which is widely used for screening radioactivity in many fields such as radioecology and environmental monitoring [7, 8], without regard to the identity of specific radionuclides. is technique gives direct information on overall radioactivity content, as all alpha and beta emissions are effectively measured
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