Evolution of radionuclide concentration and the radiological hazards in building material: a review

Residents are continuously exposed to ionizing radiation emitted from U-238, Th-232 and K-40 maintained in building materials, which may cause health risks. Hence, these building materials need to routinely monitor. This study reports a building material that poses a radiation risk. A sample of 123 research papers evaluating concentrations of U-238, Th-232 and K-40 in 7 types of building material from 38 countries was reviewed. This study revealed that granite had the highest concentrations of U-238, Th-232 and K-40, whereas the lowest concentration of U-238 and Th-232 were in marble, while K-40 was in gypsum. It was also observed that the granite had higher levels in seven hazard indices: radium equivalent index, gamma index, alpha index, external and internal hazard indexes, absorbed dose rate index and annual effective dose equivalent index than the recommended limits for each index, while the other materials were lower as hierarchal cluster analysis revealed as well. [GRAPHICS]