Radiological hazard indices and elemental composition of Brazilian and Swiss ornamental rocks

Thammiris El Hajj; Paulo Sergio Cardoso Silva; Mauro Pietro Angelo Gandolla; Gabriel Alencar Silva Almeida Dantas; Allan Santos; Homero Delboni Jr.

doi:10.15392/bjrs.v5i2.269

Authors

Thammiris El Hajj University of Alfenas
Paulo Sergio Cardoso Silva Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares
Mauro Pietro Angelo Gandolla Università della Svizzera Italiana (USI)
Gabriel Alencar Silva Almeida Dantas University of São Paulo
Allan Santos Institute of Nuclear and Energetic Research
Homero Delboni Jr. University of São Paulo

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15392/bjrs.v5i2.269

Keywords:

Ornamental rocks, radiological risk index, granite, elemental composition

Abstract

The objective of this paper was to evaluate the radiological risk index of ornamental rocks sold both in Brazil and Europe and to correlate its radioactive content with their chemical composition. The ²³⁸U, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K mean values were 62 ± 65, 122 ± 111, 1126 ± 516 Bq kg^-1 for Brazilian and 93 ± 59, 70 ± 67 and 1005 ± 780 Bq kg^-1 for Swiss samples, respectively. The radiological index: radium equivalent, external hazard index, absorbed dose rate in air, annual gonadal equivalent dose, annual effective dose equivalent and excess lifetime cancer risk for Brazilian and Swiss samples were calculated. The main contribution for the radiological indices observed was the radionuclide ²³²Th, which is associated with REE, Br, Hf, Na, Rb, Sb and Zr in the rock matrix.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

ABIROCHAS. Perfil de Rochas Ornamentais e de Revestimento. Available in: http://www.ivolution.com.br/mais/fotos/6/18/3606/Exporta_Importa_12_2015.pdf. Access in: 22 jan. 2016. Last accessed: 2015. (in Portuguese)

NCS – Natural Stone Council. Granite Dimensional Stone Quarrying and Processing: A Life-Cycle Inventory. University of Tennessee – Center of Clean Products. Available in: http://www.naturalstonecouncil.org/content/file/LCI%20Reports/Granite_LCIv1.pdf. 2008. Last accessed: 11 jul. 2016.

MOURA, C. L., ARTUR, A. C., BONOTTO, D. M., GUEDES, S, MARTINELLI, C.D. Natural radioactivity and radon exhalation rate in Brazilian igneous rocks. Appl Radiat Isot. v. 69, p. 1094–1099, 2011.

EC – EUROPEAN COMMISSION. Radiological Protection Principles concerning the Natu-ral Radioactivity of Building Materials. Radiation protection Nº 112. Luxembourg. 1999.

IAEA – TECDOC –Practical aspects of operating a neutron analysis laboratory. Interna-tional Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, 1999.

NPL REPORT IR 6. Recommended Nuclear Decay Data. Available in: http://publications.npl.co.uk/npl_web/pdf/ir6.pdf. 2008. Last accessed: 04 octouber 2016.

TUFAIL, M. Radium equivalent activity in the light of UNSCEAR report. Environ Monit As-sess, v. 184, p. 5663–5667, 2012.

BERETKA, J., MATTHEW, P. J. Natural radioactivity of Australian building materials, indus-trial waste sand by-products. Health Phys. v. 48, p. 87-95, 1985.

HEWAMANNA, R., SUMITHRARACHCHI, C., MAHAWATTE, P., NANAYAKKARA, H., RATNAYAKE, H. Natural radioactivity and gamma dose from Sri Lankan clay bricks used in building construction. Appl Radiat Isot. v. 54, p. 365–369, 2001.

KRIEGER, R. Radioactivity of construction materials. Betonwerk Fertigteil Technol. v. 47, p. 468–473, 1981.

UNSCEAR. Sources and Effects of Ionizing Radiation. Volume I: Effects. UNSCEAR 2008 Report. United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, Report to the General Assembly, with scientific annexes. United Nations sales publication E.00.IX.4. United Na-tions, New York, 2010.

RAMASAMY, V., PARAMASIVAM, K., SURESH, G., JOSE, M. T. Function of minerals in the natural radioactivity level of Vaigai River sediments, Tamilnadu, India. Spectroscopical ap-proach. Spectrochim Acta A. v. 117(3), p. 340-350, 2014.

UNSCEAR. Effects and risks of ionizing radiation. United Nations, New York, 1988. p 565–571.

CHANDRASEKARAN, A., RAVISANKAR, R., SENTHILKUMAR, G., THIL-LAIVELAVAN, K., DHINAKARAN, B., VIJAYAGOPAL, P., BRAMHA, S. N., VENKATRAMAN, B. Spatial distribution and lifetime cancer risk due to gamma radioactivity in Yelagiri Hills, Tamilnadu, India, Egypt J Basic and Appl Sci. v.1(1), p. 38-48, 2014.

RAVISANKAR, R., VANASUNDARI, K., SUGANYA, M., RAGHU, Y., RAJALAKSHMI, A., CHANDRASEKARAN, A., SIVAKUMAR, S., CHANDRAMOHAN, J., VIJAYAGOPAL, P., VENKATRAMAN, B. Multivariate statistical analysis of radiological data of building materials used in Tiruvannamalai, Tamilnadu, India, Appl Radiat Isot. v. 85, p. 114-127, 2014.

SINGH, J, SINGH, H, SINGH, S, BAJWA, BS, SONKAWADE, RG Comparative study of natural radioactivity levels in soil samples from the Upper Siwaliks and Punjab, India using gamma-ray spectrometry. J Environ Radioact. v. 100, p. 94–98, 2009.

TASKIN, H., KARAVUS, M., AY, P., TOPUZOGLU, A., HINDIROGLU, S., KARAHAN, G. Radionuclide concentrations in soil and life time cancer risk due to the gamma radioactivity in Kirklareli, Turkey. J Environ Radioact. v. 100, p. 49–53, 2009.

ICRP. Radiation dose to patients from radiopharmaceuticals. Addendum 3 to ICRP Publi-cation 53. ICRP Publication 106. Ann. ICRP 38, 2008. p 1-2.

DEVORE, J.L. (1995) Probability and Statistics for Engineering and the Sciences, fourth ed. Duxbury Press, Belmont, CA.

HUPP, A. M., MARSHALL, L. J., CAMPBELL, D. I., SMITH, R. W., MCGUFFIN, V. L. Chemometric analysis of diesel fuel for forensic and environmental applications. Anal Chim Acta, v. 606(2), p. 159–171, 2008.

OTTO, M. Multivariate methods. In Kellner, R, Mermet, JM, Otto, M, Widmer, HM (Eds.), Analytical Chemistry. Weinheim: Wiley VCH. 1998.

EINAX, J. W., ZWANZIGER, H. W., GEIB, S. Chemometrics in environmental analysis. Weinheim: Wiley. 1997.

GEMPERLINE, P. J. Practical Guide to Chemometrics. Second ed. CRC Press, Boca Ra-ton, FL. 2006.

BUCCIANTI, A., APOLLARO, C., BLOISE, A., DE ROSA, R., FALCONE, G., SCARCIGLIA, F., TALLARICO, A., VECCHIO, G. Natural radioactivity levels (K, Th, U and Rn) in the Cecita Lake area (Sila Massif, Calabria, Southern Italy): An attempt to discover correlations with soil features on a statistical base, Geoderma, v. 152 (1–2), p. 145-156, 2009.

PLANT, J.A., REEDER, S., SALMINEN, R., SMITH, D. B., TARVAINEN, T., DE VIVO, B., PETTERSON, M. G. The distribution of uranium over Europe: geological and environmental significance. Transactions of the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy section B Appl Earth Sci. v. 112 (3), p. 221-238, 2003.

KYSER K., CUNEY M. Geochemical characteristics of uranium and analytical methodologies. pp. 23-55 in. In: Cuney, M., Kyser, K., editors. Recent and Not-So-Recent Developments in Ura-nium Deposits and Implications for Exploration, Short Course Series 39. Mineralogical Associa-tion of Canada. 2008.

LAUBENSTEIN, M., MAGALDI, D. Natural radioactivity of some red Mediterranean soils, Catena, v. 76(1), p. 22-26, 2008.

UNSCEAR. United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, 1993. Sources and Effects of Ionising Radiation, vol. I. United Nations, New York. 1993.

NAGASAWA, H. Rare earth concentrations in zircons and apatites and their host dacites and granites, Earth and Planet Sc Lett, v. 9(4), p. 359-364, 1970.

EL-ARABI, A. M. 226Ra, 232Th and 40K concentrations in igneous

rocks from eastern desert, Egypt and its radiological implications, Radiat Meas, v. 42(1), p. 94-100, 2007.

SMITH, M. P., MOORE, K., KAVECSÁNSZKI, D., FINCH, A. A., KYNICKY, J., WALL, F. From mantle to critical zone: A review of large and giant sized deposits of the rare earth elements, Geosci Front, v. 7(3), p. 315-334, 2016.

ADAMS, J. A. S., OSMOND, J. K., ROGERS, J. J. W. The geochemistry of thorium and ura-nium, Phys Chem Earth, v. 3, p. 298-348, 1959.

RAFIQUE, M., KHAN, A. R., JABBAR, A., RAHMAN, S. U., KAZMI, S. J. A., NASIR, T, ARSHED, W., MATIULLAH. Evaluation of radiation dose due to naturally occurring radionu-clides in rock samples of different origins collected from Azad Kashmir, Russ Geol Geophys. v. 55(9), p. 1103-1112, 2014.

DARWISH, D. A. E, ABUL-NASR, K. T. M., EL-KHAYATT, A. M. The assessment of natural radioactivity and its associated radiological hazards and dose parameters in granite samples from South Sinai, Egypt, J Radiat Res Appl Sci. v. 8(1), p. 17-25, 2015.

SHARAF, J. M., HAMIDEEN, M. S. Measurement of natural radioactivity in Jordanian build-ing materials and their contribution to the public indoor gamma dose rate, Appl Radiat Isot, v. 8, p. 61-66, 2013.

SANTOS JÚNIOR, J. A., AMARAL, R. S., SILVA, C. M., MENEZES, R. S. C. Radium equivalent and annual effective dose from geological samples from Pedra – Pernambuco – Brazil, Radiat Meas, v. 45(7), p. 861-864, 2010.

BELLO, I. A., JIBIRI, N. N., MOMOH, H. A. Determination of External and Internal Hazard Indices from Naturally Occurring Radionuclide in Rock, Sediment and Building Samples collected from Sikiti, Southwestern Nigeria. J Nat Sci Res, v. 4(12), p. 74 – 81, 2014.

ALHARBI, W. R., ALZAHRANI, J. H., ABBADY, A. G. E. Assessment of Radiation Hazard Indices from Granite Rocks of the Southeastern Arabian Shield, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Aust J Basic Appl Sci, v. 5(6), p. 672-682, 2011.

ANJOS, R. M., JURI AYUB, J., CID, A. S., CARDOSO, R., LACERDA, T. External gam-ma-ray dose rate and radon concentration in indoor environments covered with Brazilian granites, J Environ Radioact, v. 102(11), p. 1055-1061, 2011.

NAJAM, L. A., TAWFIQ, N. F, YOUNIS, A. S. Measurement of natural radioactivity in brick samples used in the construction in Iraq, Arch Phys Res, v. 6 (1), p. 13-19, 2015.

ICRP. Recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection. ICRP Publication 60. Oxford: Pergamon Press. 1991.

ISINKAYE, M. O., EMELUE, H. U. Natural radioactivity measurements and evaluation of radiological hazards in sediment of Oguta Lake, South East Nigeria, J Radiat Res Appl Sci, v. 8(3), p. 459-469, 2015.