Radioactivity content in construction materials of assets of particular historical-artistic interest

Abstract

In the present paper, an investigation focused on the natural radioactivity content in construction materials widely employed for the realization of buildings of particular historical-artistic importance, was performed. In particular, the assessment of the activity concentration of 226 Ra, 232 Th, and 40 K radioisotopes in red granite and basalt aggregate samples was carried out through High Purity Germanium (HPGe) γ-ray spectrometry. Moreover, several indexes developed to evaluate the radiological risk for human beings related to radiation exposure, i.e. the radiation activity concentration index (I), the alpha index (Iα), the radium equivalent activity (Raeq), the hazard indexes (Hin and Hex), the absorbed γ-dose rate (D) and the annual effective dose equivalent outdoor (AEDEout) and indoor (AEDEin), were calculated.