Natural radionuclides in the building materials used in Manisa City, Turkey

The activity concentrations of U-238, Th-232 and K-40 in brick, cement and sand samples used as building materials in Manisa province were analysed by a gamma-ray spectroscopy coupled with a Nal (TI) detector. Doses received by the citizens living in Manisa due to these building materials were also calculated. The highest activity concentrations of U-238, Th-232 and K-40 found in the sand samples were 1559.10 Bq(.)kg(-1), 142.48 Bq(.)kg(-1) and 1711.47 Bq(.)kg(-1), respectively. The maximum mean of radium equivalent activity Ra-eq was 945 Bq(.)kg(-1) calculated for levels in sand, gravel and stone samples.