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Radioactivity of building materials in Serbia and assessment of radiological hazard of gamma radiation and radon exhalation

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Abstract

This paper presents a gamma spectrometric analysis of 47 samples of building materials produced and used in Serbia. Based on the measured activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K, radiological hazard indices and annual effective doses were estimated for human exposure in the rooms. The values of radon surface exhalation rate and indoor radon concentration, as well as the range of indoor radon exposures for typical building materials produced in Serbia (concrete, mortar, clay bricks, granite, siporex, ceramic and concrete tiles), were estimated. Measurements of the dose rate for building materials in one typical home in Serbia were performed in contact geometry using the radiation monitor Radiagem 2000.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia for financial support for the realization of this work in the framework of scientific Projects No. 171002 and 43002.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Faculty of Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 4, Novi Sad, 21000, Serbia

    Predrag Kuzmanović, Nataša Todorović, Dušan Mrđa, Sofija Forkapić, Jovana Nikolov & Jovana Knežević

  2. Laboratory for Physics, Department of Medical and Business-Technological Studies, Academy of Professional Studies Šabac, Hajduk Veljkova 10, Šabac, 15000, Serbia

    Predrag Kuzmanović & Leposava Filipović Petrović

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  1. Predrag Kuzmanović
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  2. Nataša Todorović
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Correspondence to Nataša Todorović.

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Kuzmanović, P., Todorović, N., Filipović Petrović, L. et al. Radioactivity of building materials in Serbia and assessment of radiological hazard of gamma radiation and radon exhalation. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 324, 1077–1087 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-020-07130-8

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