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Natural radioactivity and radiation hazards of building materials in Anhui Province, China

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Abstract

The natural radioactivity and potential radiological hazards of commonly used construction materials in Anhui, China were studied. The activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K were determined by high-purity germanium gamma ray spectrometer. The activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K in the construction materials range from 12.4 to 66.4, 19.3 to 87.7 and 185 to 921 Bq kg−1, respectively. The study on distribution characteristics of radionuclides showed a significant variation of activity among different materials. The radium equivalent activity, external hazard index and annual effective dose were calculated to evaluate the potential radiological hazards.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Excellent Young Scientist Foundation of Anhui (2012SQRL210). We acknowledge editors and reviewers for polishing the language of the paper and for in-depth discussion.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials and Chemical Engineering, Chizhou University, Chizhou, 247000, Anhui, China

    Junyan Ge

  2. School of Biological and Food Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, 230000, Anhui, China

    Jianguo Zhang

  3. School of Life Sciences, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, 230000, Anhui, China

    Jianguo Zhang

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  1. Junyan Ge
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  2. Jianguo Zhang
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Correspondence to Junyan Ge.

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Ge, J., Zhang, J. Natural radioactivity and radiation hazards of building materials in Anhui Province, China. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 304, 609–613 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-014-3891-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-014-3891-6

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