THE ACTIVITY CONCENTRATIONS OF 226 Ra, 232 Th AND 40 K FOR THE BUILDING MATERIALS IN SOHAG REGION, EGYPT

The specific activity concentrations of natural radionuclides (226 Ra, 232 Th and 40 K) in the building materials (sand, clay, limestone , limestone Issawi (Travertine) and cement) used in Sohag region, Egypt, were determined by using gamma-ray spectrometric technique based on high-resolution hyper-pure germanium detectors (HPGe). The activity concentrations of 226 Ra, 232 Th and 40K, radium equivalent (Ra eq), external hazard index (Hex), internal hazard index (H in), gamma index (I γ), alpha index (I α), absorbed dose rates (D) and the annual effective doses (E) due to gamma radiation from the samples were calculated. The results for the samples are within the international recommendations, so the building materials are safe to use for construction of new buildings and do not pose any significant radiological hazards.