title: Natural radioactivity in building materials used in Changzhi, China.
abstract: The natural radioactivity levels of the commonly used building materials collected from Changzhi, China was analysed using gamma-ray spectroscopy. The activity concentrations of (226)Ra, (232)Th and (40)K in the investigated building materials range from 14.6 to 131.2, from 9.9 to 138.8 and from 96.1 to 819.0 Bq kg(-1), respectively. The results were compared with the reported data of other countries and with the worldwide mean activity of soil. The external and internal hazard indices and gamma index were calculated to assess the radiation hazard to residents. The external hazard index of all building materials are less than unity, while the internal hazard and gamma indexes of hollow brick and gravel aggregate exceed unity. The study shows that the investigated hollow brick and gravel aggregate are not suitable for use as building materials in dwellings.
authors: School of Tourism and Environment, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710062, People's Republic of China.
authors: Guang
authors: G
authors: Yang
authors: Xinwei
authors: X
authors: Lu
authors: Caifeng
authors: C
authors: Zhao
authors: Nan
authors: N
authors: Li
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D003252:Construction Materials / Q000032:analysis*; D005720:Gamma Rays; D011197:Potassium Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011834:Radiation Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D011835:Radiation Protection / Q000379:methods; D011851:Radioactivity; D011883:Radium / Q000032:analysis; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis; D013051:Spectrometry, Gamma / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D013910:Thorium / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D011197:Potassium Radioisotopes; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive; D013910:Thorium; D011883:Radium