Biomaterial Database

Assessment of radiation hazards due to natural radioactivity in some building materials used in Egyptian dwellings. 2009

M E Medhat

Experimental Nuclear Physics Department, Nuclear Research Center, Cairo, PO Box 13759, Egypt. medhatme@yahoo.com

Different types of Egyptian building materials from various locations in Cairo and its suburbs have been analysed for natural radioactivity using gamma ray spectrometry. Concentrations of (226)Ra, (232)Th and (40)K were in the ranges of (12 +/- 2.8-65 +/- 6.5), (5 +/- 1.8-60 +/- 6.7) and (159 +/- 3.8-920 +/- 12.7 Bq kg(-1)), respectively. The minimum concentration of (226)Ra, (232)Th and (40)K was found in gravel samples, whereas the maximum in granite samples. The results are compared with the published data of other countries and with the world average limits. The radiological hazard parameters: radium equivalent activity, gamma index, alpha index, absorbed dose rate and the annual exposure rate, were determined to assess the radiation hazards associated with Egyptian buildings. All studied samples are lower than world average limits.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008452	Maximum Allowable Concentration	The maximum exposure to a biologically active physical or chemical agent that is allowed during an 8-hour period (a workday) in a population of workers, or during a 24-hour period in the general population, which does not appear to cause appreciable harm, whether immediate or delayed for any period, in the target population. (From Lewis Dictionary of Toxicology, 1st ed)	Maximum Permissible Exposure Level,MPEL,Maximum Permissible Exposure Concentration,Allowable Concentration, Maximum,Allowable Concentrations, Maximum,Concentration, Maximum Allowable,Concentrations, Maximum Allowable,MPELs,Maximum Allowable Concentrations
D011829	Radiation Dosage	The amount of radiation energy that is deposited in a unit mass of material, such as tissues of plants or animal. In RADIOTHERAPY, radiation dosage is expressed in gray units (Gy). In RADIOLOGIC HEALTH, the dosage is expressed by the product of absorbed dose (Gy) and quality factor (a function of linear energy transfer), and is called radiation dose equivalent in sievert units (Sv).	Sievert Units,Dosage, Radiation,Gray Units,Gy Radiation,Sv Radiation Dose Equivalent,Dosages, Radiation,Radiation Dosages,Units, Gray,Units, Sievert
D011868	Radioisotopes	Isotopes that exhibit radioactivity and undergo radioactive decay. (From Grant & Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, 5th ed & McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed)	Daughter Isotope,Daughter Nuclide,Radioactive Isotope,Radioactive Isotopes,Radiogenic Isotope,Radioisotope,Radionuclide,Radionuclides,Daughter Nuclides,Daugter Isotopes,Radiogenic Isotopes,Isotope, Daughter,Isotope, Radioactive,Isotope, Radiogenic,Isotopes, Daugter,Isotopes, Radioactive,Isotopes, Radiogenic,Nuclide, Daughter,Nuclides, Daughter
D011874	Radiometry	The measurement of radiation by photography, as in x-ray film and film badge, by Geiger-Mueller tube, and by SCINTILLATION COUNTING.	Geiger-Mueller Counters,Nuclear Track Detection,Radiation Dosimetry,Dosimetry, Radiation,Geiger Counter,Geiger-Mueller Counter Tube,Geiger-Mueller Probe,Geiger-Mueller Tube,Radiation Counter,Counter Tube, Geiger-Mueller,Counter Tubes, Geiger-Mueller,Counter, Geiger,Counter, Radiation,Counters, Geiger,Counters, Geiger-Mueller,Counters, Radiation,Detection, Nuclear Track,Dosimetries, Radiation,Geiger Counters,Geiger Mueller Counter Tube,Geiger Mueller Counters,Geiger Mueller Probe,Geiger Mueller Tube,Geiger-Mueller Counter Tubes,Geiger-Mueller Probes,Geiger-Mueller Tubes,Probe, Geiger-Mueller,Probes, Geiger-Mueller,Radiation Counters,Radiation Dosimetries,Tube, Geiger-Mueller,Tube, Geiger-Mueller Counter,Tubes, Geiger-Mueller,Tubes, Geiger-Mueller Counter
D003252	Construction Materials	Supplies used in building.	Building Materials,Building Material,Construction Material,Material, Building,Material, Construction,Materials, Building,Materials, Construction
D004534	Egypt	A country in northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Libya and the Gaza Strip, and the Red Sea north of Sudan, and includes the Asian Sinai Peninsula Its capital is Cairo.	Arab Republic of Egypt,United Arab Republic
D006798	Housing	Living facilities for humans.	Family-Patient Lodging,Patient-Family Lodging,Family Patient Lodging,Family-Patient Lodgings,Lodging, Family-Patient,Lodging, Patient-Family,Lodgings, Family-Patient,Lodgings, Patient-Family,Patient Family Lodging,Patient-Family Lodgings
D001417	Background Radiation	Radiation from sources other than the source of interest. It is due to cosmic rays and natural radioactivity in the environment.	Natural Radiation,Radiation, Background,Radiation, Natural,Background Radiations,Natural Radiations,Radiations, Background,Radiations, Natural
D012307	Risk Factors	An aspect of personal behavior or lifestyle, environmental exposure, inborn or inherited characteristic, which, based on epidemiological evidence, is known to be associated with a health-related condition considered important to prevent.	Health Correlates,Risk Factor Scores,Risk Scores,Social Risk Factors,Population at Risk,Populations at Risk,Correlates, Health,Factor, Risk,Factor, Social Risk,Factors, Social Risk,Risk Factor,Risk Factor Score,Risk Factor, Social,Risk Factors, Social,Risk Score,Score, Risk,Score, Risk Factor,Social Risk Factor
D018570	Risk Assessment	The qualitative or quantitative estimation of the likelihood of adverse effects that may result from exposure to specified health hazards or from the absence of beneficial influences. (Last, Dictionary of Epidemiology, 1988)	Assessment, Risk,Benefit-Risk Assessment,Risk Analysis,Risk-Benefit Assessment,Health Risk Assessment,Risks and Benefits,Analysis, Risk,Assessment, Benefit-Risk,Assessment, Health Risk,Assessment, Risk-Benefit,Benefit Risk Assessment,Benefit-Risk Assessments,Benefits and Risks,Health Risk Assessments,Risk Analyses,Risk Assessment, Health,Risk Assessments,Risk Benefit Assessment,Risk-Benefit Assessments