MEASUREMENT OF NATURAL RADIOACTIVITY IN BUILDING MATERIALS USED IN URUMQI, CHINA

摘要

Building materials contain natural radionuclides ~(226)Ra, ~(232)Th and~(40)K, which cause direct radiation exposure of the public. The concentrations of ~(226)Ra, ~(232)Th and ~(40)K in commonly used building materials of Urumqi, China have been analysed using gamma-ray spectrometry. The concentrations of ~(226)Ra, ~(40)K and ~(232)Th in the studied building materials range from 19.8 to 87.4, from 273.3 to 981.2 and from 11.6 to 47.7 Bq kg~(-1), respectively. The radium equivalent activity (Ra_(eq)), gamma index (I_γ) and alpha index (I_α) were calculated to assess the radiation hazards to people living in dwellings made of the materials studied. The calculated Ra_(eq) values of all the building materials are lower than the limit of 370 Bq kg~(-1)for building materials. The values of I_γ and I_α of all the building materials are less than unity. The study shows that these materials may be safely used as construction materials and do not pose significant radiation hazards.