Concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K in industrial kaolinized granite

Publication date: March 2017
Source:Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, Volume 168
Author(s): Nataša Todorović, Jan Hansman, Dušan Mrđa, Jovana Nikolov, Richárd Kardos, Miodrag Krmar
Activity concentrations of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K in 120 kaolinized granite samples imported in Serbia from the Motajica mine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, were measured. The ²²⁶Ra concentration ranged from 61 to 319 Bq kg⁻¹, the ²³²Th from 44 to 272 Bq kg⁻¹, and the ⁴⁰K from 590 to 1470 Bq kg⁻¹. The frequency distribution of ⁴⁰K concentrations was near-Gaussian, where those of ²²⁶Ra and ²³²Th were right-skewed. In 6 samples, the gamma index, I, was higher than 2, which exceeds the exemption dose criterion (0.3 mSv y⁻¹). The absorbed dose rate and annual effective doses for workers in the ceramic industries in Serbia who worked with kaolinized granite were below levels of concern.



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