Screening tools to limit the use of building materials with enhanced/elevated levels of natural radioactivity: Analysis and application of index criteria

Until now various methods have been developed in several countries to evaluate and classify building materials on the basis of their natural radioactivity. Some of them also account for the contribution of radon to the annual effective dose. In this paper the authors review these methods and apply some of them to the contents of a database of natural radioactivity of building materials in the European Union, that was established by the authors. Based on the activity concentration index introduced by the EC Radiation Protection 112 guidance, IRP112, a new index is also proposed, that accounts for the radon contribution to the effective dose indoors. The results obtained with different indexes are compared in order to evaluate the impact of the new Basic Safety Standards Directive implementation in the EU Member States, particularly in Countries where radioactivity in building materials is already regulated. Moreover, some non EU screening tools were considered to provide suggestions for possible future improvements of the EC IRP112.