Assessment of lifetime cancer risk due to natural radioactivity in the stones in the Central Anatolia Region, Turkey

The distributions of naturally occurring radionuclides 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K in some stones from the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey were determined using gamma ray spectrometry in order to assess the radiological health hazards and excess lifetime cancer risks associated with the use of the stones. The average activity concentration values of 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K from the studied were 31.55 Bq/kg, 21.90 Bq/kg, and 205.40 Bq/kg respectively. In order to evaluate the radiological hazard of the natural radioactivity, the radium equivalent activity, absorbed dose rate, annual effective dose rate, internal and external hazard indices, gamma index, and excess lifetime cancer risk have been calculated.