Natural activities of 238U, 232Th and 40K in building materials

Abstract Seven kinds of building materials were analysed for 238U, 232Th and 40K using a direct γ-counting method. The activity concentrations measured for 238U (30–448 Bq kg-1) and 40K (328–7541 Bq kg-1) were greater than the world average activity for soil (25 and 370 Bq kg-1, respectively) for all building materials analysed, while the activity concentrations of 232Th were found to exceed the average of 25 Bq kg-1 (soil) for red-clay brick (51 Bq kg-1) and ceiling asbestos sheet materials (162 Bq kg-1). The calculated Ra equivalent activities (Raeq) for all materials are higher than the world average value for soil (89 Bq kg-1). For red-clay brick and ceiling asbestos, the Raeq values are found to exceed the limit of 370 Bq kg-1, equivalent to a γ-dose of 1.5 mSv yr-1.