Diatomite (diatomaceous earth) and clay minerals deposits from the mining
basin Kolubara, Serbia, are natural materials with high economic potential
in many fields. As received and treated materials, diatomite and clay were
characterized using X-ray diffraction, mercury intrusion porosimetry,
particle size distribution, scanning electron microscopy, and
Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. Activity concentrations for natural
radionuclides 40K, 226Ra and 232Th and anthropogenic radionuclide 137Cs in
diatomite and clay were determined by gamma spectrometry with HPGe detector.
For diatomite and clay, the mean activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and
40K were found to be 9, 26 and 173 Bq kg-1 and 19, 26 and 470 Bq kg-1,
respectively. In the present study was to show that these materials are
environmentally safe for further use in many fields.