Natural radioactivity measurements in building materials used in Samsun, Turkey

In this study, radioactivity levels of 35 different samples of 11 commonly used building materials in Samsun were measured by using a gamma spectrometry system. The analysis carried out with the high purity Germanium gamma spectrometry system. Radioactivity concentrations of Ra-226, Th-232 and K-40 range from 6 to 54 Bq kg(1), 5 to 88 Bq kg(1) and 6 to 1070 Bq kg(1), respectively. From these results, radium equivalent activities, gamma indexes, absorbed dose rates and annual effective doses were calculated for all samples. Obtained results were compared with the available data, and it was concluded that all the investigated materials did not have radiological risk.