Determination of the natural radioactivity in Qatarian building materials using high-resolution gamma-ray spectrometry

This study is aimed at the determination of the activity concentrations of naturally occurring and technically enhanced levels of radiation in building materials used across the State of Qatar. Samples from a range of common building materials, including Qatarian cement, Saudi cement, white cement, sand and washed sand, have been analyzed, in addition to other samples of cement's raw materials and additives collected from the main suppliers in Qatar. In order to establish the activity concentrations associated with the (235,8)U and (232)Th natural decay chains and (40)K, the samples have been studied using a high-resolution, low-background gamma-ray spectrometry set-up. Details of the sample preparation and the gamma-ray spectroscopic analysis techniques are presented, together with the preliminary results of the activity concentrations associated with the naturally occurring radionuclide chains for the building materials collected across the Qatarian peninsula. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.