Assessment of natural radioactivity in commercial granites used in Turkey.

The activity concentrations of (226)Ra, (232)Th and (40)K in twelve different domestic and imported tiling rocks (granites) used as building materials in Turkey were determined by employing high-resolution γ-ray spectrometry. The samples were evaluated to assess the radiation hazard for people by comparing the results with the control values recommended by the European Commission. The measured activity concentrations ranged from 7 to 136 Bq kg(-1), 9 to 138 Bq kg(-1) and 541 to 1277 Bq kg(-1) for (226)Ra, (232)Th and (40)K, respectively. Applying dose criteria recommended by the European Commission([15]), two of the samples showed higher Ra(eq) values than the limit dose of 370 Bq kg(-1), equivalent to a γ-dose of 1.5 mSv y(-1). The calculated gamma-index (I(γ)) values for all the 12 samples were lower than the recommended dose criterion. In some of the samples; however, the H(ex) and H(in) values were more than unity. The absorbed dose rates (D) for all the samples, except for four samples, were located within the range values recommended by the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR)([3]). Annual effective dose (AED) values, except for one sample, were greater than the world average value of UNSCEAR([3]).