RADON EXHALATION FROM BUILDING MATERIALS USED IN YEMEN

The present article seeks to determine the annual effective doses of Rn-222 exposure, effective radium content and radon exhalation rates in some building materials from the local market of Ibb province, Yemen. A total of 33 samples of building materials were collected from the target area. The radon exhalation rate and effective radium content in these samples were measured using solid-state nuclear track detector, which has become an important tool in every investigation of the radon levels in the surrounding environment. Surface exhalation rate has been found to vary from 178.90 to 1267.6 mBq m(-2) h(-1), whereas mass exhalation rate has been found to vary from 5.51 to 33.25 mBq kg(-1) h(-1). All the values of effective radium content in all samples under test were found to be quite lower than the permissible value of 370 Bq kg(-1) recommended by Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Annual effective doses have also been estimated.