Spatial Distribution Of Natural Radioactivity And Statistical Analyses Of Radioactive Variables In Algerian Ceramic Products
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Date
2020
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Oum-El-Bouaghi University
Abstract
Algerian dwellings are known for their use of ceramics as decorative materials. The latter are mainly composed of clay that contains naturally occurring radionuclides, mainly Uranium and Thorium families and the radioactive isotope of Potassium. Therefore ceramics are classified as a source of hazardous contamination and broad investigations of natural radioactivity levels must be established with the aim of estimating the harmful effects of ionizing radiations emitted by these materials. In this study, thirteen samples collected from ceramic dealers and construction sites were analyzed using a high-resolution HPGe semiconductor detector. Activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K were found with mean specific activities of 22.28±0.61, 29.39±1.34 and 558.31±11.58 Bq.kg-1, respectively. The obtained data were below the recommended values for 226Ra and 232Th. However, they were above them for 40K. Radiological hazards parameters such as radium equivalent, activity concentration index and activity utilization index were calculated and compared to the worldwide average values. Further, statistical analyses were performed and discussed for the resulted data.
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Keywords
Ceramics, Radioactive isotope, Specific activities, Radium equivalent, Statistical analyses