Radiation Protection Dosimetry Advance Access published online on October 19, 2009
Radiation Protection Dosimetry, doi:10.1093/rpd/ncp205
GAMMA SPECTROSCOPIC ANALYSIS AND ASSOCIATED RADIATION HAZARDS OF BUILDING MATERIALS USED IN EGYPT
Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Al-Azher University, Assuit Branch, 71542 Assuit, Egypt
* Corresponding author: Atef_Eltaher{at}hotmail.com
Received July 5, 2009, amended September 4, 2009, accepted September 8, 2009
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. Using 
-ray spectrometry, the natural radioactivity levels of 55 samples of natural and manufactured Egyptian building materials have been investigated. The samples were collected from local market and construction sites. From the measured -ray spectra, activity concentrations were determined. The activities were in the ranges 11.7–35.6, 12.4–55.2 and 60–350 Bq kg–1 for 226Ra, 232Th and 40K, respectively. The activities are compared with available reported data from other countries and with the world average value for soils. The radium equivalent activity Raeq, the external hazard index Hex and the absorbed dose rate in air D in each sample was evaluated to assess the radiation hazard for people living in dwellings made of the materials studied. All building materials have shown Raeq (range from 37.76 to 116.87 Bq kg–1) lower than the limit of 370 Bq kg–1 adopted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The absorbed dose rate in indoor air is lower than the international recommended value of 55 nGy h–1 for all test samples. All the materials examined are acceptable for use as building materials as defined by the OECD criterion.