Biomaterial Database

Natural radioactivity in Algerian building materials. 2001

D Amrani, and M Tahtat

Laboratoire de Dosimétrie, Centre de Recherche Nucléaire d'Alger, Alger-Gare, Algeria. d@caramail.com

Samples of natural and manufactured building materials collected from Algiers have been analysed for 226Ra, 232Th and 40K using a high-resolution HPGe gamma-spectrometry system. The specific concentrations for 226Ra, 232Th and 40K, from the selected building materials, ranged from (12-65 Bq kg(-1)), (7-51 B qkg(-1)) and (36-675 Bq kg(-1)), respectively. The measured activity concentrations for these natural radionuclides were compared with the reported data of other countries and with the world average activity of soil. Radium-equivalent activities were calculated for the measured samples to assess the radiation hazards arising from using those materials in the construction of dwellings. All building materials showed Ra(eq) activities lower than the limit set in the OECD report (370 Bq kg(-1)), equivalent to external gamma-dose of 1.5 mSv yr(-1).

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008296	Malaysia	A parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch in southeast Asia, consisting of 11 states (West Malaysia) on the Malay Peninsula and two states (East Malaysia) on the island of BORNEO. It is also called the Federation of Malaysia. Its capital is Kuala Lumpur. Before 1963 it was the Union of Malaya. It reorganized in 1948 as the Federation of Malaya, becoming independent from British Malaya in 1957 and becoming Malaysia in 1963 as a federation of Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore (which seceded in 1965). The form Malay- probably derives from the Tamil malay, mountain, with reference to its geography. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p715 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p329)	Federation of Malaya,Malay Federation,Malay Peninsula,Malaya,Malaya Federation,Sabah,Sarawak
D011197	Potassium Radioisotopes	Unstable isotopes of potassium that decay or disintegrate emitting radiation. K atoms with atomic weights 37, 38, 40, and 42-45 are radioactive potassium isotopes.	Radioisotopes, Potassium
D011886	Radon	A naturally radioactive element with atomic symbol Rn, and atomic number 86. It is a member of the noble gas family found in soil, and is released during the decay of RADIUM.	Actinon,Thoron (Element)
D003252	Construction Materials	Supplies used in building.	Building Materials,Building Material,Construction Material,Material, Building,Material, Construction,Materials, Building,Materials, Construction
D005060	Europe	The continent north of AFRICA, west of ASIA and east of the ATLANTIC OCEAN.	Northern Europe,Southern Europe,Western Europe
D000462	Algeria	A country in northern Africa bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between MOROCCO and TUNISIA. Its capital is Algiers.
D001315	Australia	The smallest continent and an independent country, comprising six states and two territories. Its capital is Canberra.	Canton and Enderbury Islands,Christmas Island,Christmas Island (Australia)
D012680	Sensitivity and Specificity	Binary classification measures to assess test results. Sensitivity or recall rate is the proportion of true positives. Specificity is the probability of correctly determining the absence of a condition. (From Last, Dictionary of Epidemiology, 2d ed)	Specificity,Sensitivity,Specificity and Sensitivity
D013051	Spectrometry, Gamma	Determination of the energy distribution of gamma rays emitted by nuclei. (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed)	Gamma Spectrophotometry,Gamma Spectrometry,Spectrophotometry, Gamma
D013794	Thallium Radioisotopes	Unstable isotopes of thallium that decay or disintegrate emitting radiation. Tl atoms with atomic weights 198-202, 204, and 206-210 are thallium radioisotopes.	Radioisotopes, Thallium