Investigation of natural radioactivity and associated radiological hazards in ceramic sanitary ware products commercially sold in Turkey

ABSTRACT

All ceramic products used in the construction of buildings contain natural radioisotopes at various rates. These radioisotopes are the main source of outdoor radiation to which people living in houses or workplaces are exposed. Therefore, it is important to determine the radioactivity levels in ceramic products used in buildings. In this study, the natural radioactivity levels (²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K) in forty ceramic sanitary ware products (17 closets and 23 sinks) of twelve different brands produced in Turkey were determined using a high-purity germanium detector (HPGe). In order to evaluate the radiological hazards originating from natural radionuclides of examined ceramic sanitary ware samples, radium equivalent activity (Ra_eq), gamma index (I_γ), external hazard index (H_ex), absorbed dose rate (D), annual effective dose (AED) and excess life time cancer risk (ELCR) values were also calculated. The average activity concentrations of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K radionuclides in the investigated ceramic sanitary ware products were found as 35.47 ± 2.35, 48.80 ± 2.53, 230.44 ± 10.49 Bq/kg for closet samples and 34.64 ± 2.34, 51.25 ± 2.61, 256.23 ± 10.95 Bq/kg for sink samples, respectively. These values are less than the world average values (50, 50, 500 Bq/kg) except for the average ²³²Th concentration of sink samples. The average of radiological hazard parameters (Ra_eq, I_γ, H_ex, D, AEDE and ELCR) calculated for all ceramic sanitary ware samples were found lower than the limit values recommended by international organisations.

KEYWORDS:

• Ceramic
• sanitary ware
• natural radioactivity
• radiological hazard
• Turkey

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.