Natural radioactivity of granites used as building materials

Sixteen kinds of different granites, used as building materials, imported to Greece mainly from Spain and Brazil, were sampled and their natural radioactivity was measured by gamma-ray spectrometry. The activity concentrations of U-238, Ra-226., Th-232 and K-40 of granites are presented and compared to those of other building materials as well as other granite types used all over the world. In order to assess the radiological impact from the granites investigated, the absorbed and the effective doses were determined. Although the annual effective dose is higher than the limit of I mSv y(-1) for some studied granites, they could be used safely as building materials, considering that their contribution in most of the house constructions is very low. An attempt to correlate the relatively high level of natural radioactivity, shown by some of the granites, with their constituent radioactive minerals and their chemical composition, was also made. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.