Assessment of the natural radioactivity content in typical building materials employed in the Italian cultural heritage

Serpil Akozcan, Simona Mancini, Natasa Todorovic, Selin Ozden, Michele Guida
Abstract:
Natural radionuclides from the uranium (238U) and thorium (232Th) families, as well as the radioactive isotope potassium, are present in varying concentrations in building materials and products obtained from rock and soil. In Italy, in historical monuments, natural building materials have been largely employed for decorative and structural purposes.
In this study we measured the natural radioactivity content in six different materials (Grey tuff, basalt lava stone, lava stone, sand stone, magmatic rock and travertine). The activity concentrations were determined by high purity germanium (HPGe) detector based gamma spectrometry.
The radium equivalent activity (Raeq), indoor absorbed gamma dose rate (Din), the annual effective dose (De), and the internal and external hazard indexes were evaluated to assess the radiation hazard for people living and working in buildings where these materials are used.
Download:
IMEKO-MetroArchaeo-2023-161.pdf
DOI:
10.21014/tc4-ARC-2023.161
Event details
IMEKO TC:
TC4
Event name:
TC4 MetroArchaeo 2023
Title:

IMEKO TC4 International Conference on Metrology for Archaeology and Cultural Heritage

Place:
Rome, ITALY
Time:
19 October 2023 - 21 October 2023