Background: Natural radioactivity in materials
under certain conditions can reach the hazardous
radiological levels. So, it becomes necessary to study
the natural radioactivity in different materials to
assess the dose for the population in order to know
the health risks and to have a baseline for future
changes in the environmental radioactivity due to
human activities. Materials and Methods: The
present study deals with the measurement of
radioactivity using “γ-ray spectrometry” from naturally
occurring radionuclides in the soil, stone and sand
samples used as building materials in North-Eastern
Haryana state of India. The places are in the vicinity
of Shivalik range of Himalayas. Results: The activity
concentrations for 226Ra, 232Th and 40K varied from
18±1.5 to 156±6Bqkg‑1, 23±1 to 300±5Bqkg‑1 and
32±0.5 to 1705±14 Bqkg‑1 respectively in various
samples. The absorbed dose rate in soil, sand and
stone samples is investigated at 1 m above ground
level. Ra equivalents, Internal and external hazard
indices have also been calculated. Conclusion: The
natural radioactivity levels measured in the samples
under present study are below the recommended
limits except for black stone (SB) and red stone (SR).
However, these samples satisfy the universal
standards. Iran. J. Radiat. Res., 2011 9(3): 187-194
Gupta M, Chauhan R. Estimating radiation dose from building materials. Int J Radiat Res 2011; 9 (3) :187-194 URL: http://ijrr.com/article-1-806-en.html