Internal exposure from building materials exhaling Rn-222 and Rn-220 as compared to external exposure due to their natural radioactivity content

Abstract

The main scope of this paper is to point out the importance of introducing radon and thoron exhalation measurements from building materials in the regulating frame. Currently (2009), such a regulation of this kind of exposure is not explicitly included in the Serbian regulating network. To this end, this work reports concentration measurements of Ra-226, Th-232 and K-40 and radon and thoron exhalation rates from building materials used in Serbia. Following detailed analysis, it was noticed that both internal exposures to radon and/or thoron exhaling from building materials may exceed external exposures to their precursors contained therein. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.