The radioactivity of building materials

Radiation exposure of the population can be increased appreciably by the use of building materials containing above-normal levels of naturally occurring radionuclides of terrestrial origin, as high as 1600 Bq.kg(-1) for K-40 in granites, 700 Bq.kg(-1) for Ra-226 in phosphogypsum and 360 Bq.kg(-1) for Th-232 in granites. In a 25-year survey including more than two hundreds of different materials were investigated. Of the materials normally used in the building industry, i.e., red clay bricks, cement of Portland Types I and II, concretes, gravels and sand, contain regular levels of the primordial radionuclides. The adsorbed dose rate in indoor air, in general, does not exceed the dose criterion of 80 nGy.h(-1) or 0.3 mSv.y(-1) for the effective dose. Granites and phosphogypsum are the highly radioactive materials for which the absorbed dose rate in indoor air becomes up to five times higher than the dose criterion. It is recommended to avoid the use of those materials without radioactivity control.