Measurement of Radon Exhalation Rates from Different Rock Types and Construction Materials (Gaza Strip, Palestine)

Year 2018, , 195 - 206, 27.12.2018

Khaled Ahmed Ramadan Khalid Fathi Ubeid

https://doi.org/10.17824/yerbilimleri.503884

Cited By: 3

Abstract

Indoor radon increases the health hazard due to long-term exposure. Most building materials of natural origin contain small amount of naturally occurring radioactive materials. The building materials of natural origin reflect the geology of their site origin. This study was carried out to assess the radon activity concentration in rock and building materials used in construction purposes in the Gaza Strip, southwestern of Palestine. Fourteen different construction materials of imported (international) and local origin were tested, using solid state nuclear track detectors (CR-39). After 55 days of exposure, CR-39 detectors were etched chemically and then counted under an optical microscope. The radon concentration level of studied samples ranges from 94.4 to 642.5 Bq/m3. The sands (from north of Gaza Strip), black cement, gray granite and the marble show relatively highest levels with values about 642.5, 285.0, 283.6, and 257.2 Bq/m3, respectively. These values are above the international standard limits, and they are not safe for use in construction purposes. According to Ubeid and Ramadan (2017), the highest value in sands are referred to black sands, agricultural run-off and urban areas, discharges from mining activities, factories and municipal sewer systems, leaching from dumps and former industrial sites. While, the high value in gray granite is related to high percentage of silica and potassium contents, the high value of radon concentration in the marble is interpreted to high contents of organic matter in the original limestone before the metamorphism. On the other hand, values on radon concentration in the waste-dust of marble and granite from industrial quarry were 399.7 and 257.2 Bq/m3, respectively. They were above the international standard limit, and generally the ambient is not safe for workers.

Keywords

Radon exhalation, building materials, rock fragments, Gaza Strip

References

• Abo-Elmagd, M., and Daif, M.M., 2010. Calibration of CR-39 for radon-related parameters using sealed cup technique. Radiation Protection Dosimetry 139, 546–550. Arrol, W.J., Jacobi, R.B., and Paneth, F.A., 1942. Meteorites and the age of the solar system. Nature 49, 235-238.
• ATSDR (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry). 1990. U.S Public Health Service, in Collaboration with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Toxological Profile For Radon.
• Axelson, O., 1995 Cancer Risks from Exposure to Radon in Homes. Environment Health Perspect 103, 37–43.
• Baykara, O., and Dogru, M., 2006. Measurements of radon and uranium concentration in water and soil samples from East Anatolian Active Fault Systems, Turkey. Radiation Measurements 41, 362–367.
• Baykara, O., Dogrua, M., Inceoz, M., and Aksoy, E., 2005. Measurements of radon emanation from soil samples in triple-junction of North and East Anatolian active faults systems in Turkey. Radiation Measurements 39, 209- 212.
• Chauhan, R. P., Chauhan, P., Pundir, A., Sunil Kamboj, S., Vakul Bansal, V., and Saini, R. S., 2014. Estimation of dose contribution from 226Ra, 232Th and 40K and radon exhalation rates in soil samples from Shivalik Foot Hills in India. Radiation Protection Dosimetry 158, 79–86. Chauhan, R.P., Nain, M, Kant, K., 2008. Radon diffusion studies through some building materials: Effect of grain size. Radiation Measurements 43, S445–S448.
• Chen J., 2005. A Review of radon doses, Radiation Protection Bureau, Health. Canada Radiation Protection 22, 27-31.
• Daly, R.A., 1933. Igneous Rocks and the Depths of the Earth. New York: McGraw-Hill. Durrani, S., and Ilic, R., 1997. Radon Measurements by Etch Track Detectors. World Scientific Publishing, Singapore.
• Evans, R.D., and Goodman, G., 1941. Radioactivity of rocks. Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer. 52, 459-490.
• GEP (Gaza environmental Profile), Part I., 1994. Inventory of resources. Palestinian Environmental protection Authority, Eurconsult/Iwaco.
• Guo Q., and Cheng J., 2005. Indoor thoron and radon concentrations in Zhuhai, China. Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology 42, 588- 591.
• Gurari, F.G., Gavshin, V.M., and Matvienko, N.I., 1984. Geochemistry of Microelements in Lower–Middle Cambrian Marine Plankton Sediments of the Siberian Platform, (Association of Microelements with Organic Matter in Sedimentary Rocks of Siberia). Novosibirsk: Inst. Geol. Geofiz., Sib. Otd., Akad. Nauk SSSR, pp. 41–68.
• ICRP (International Commission on Radiological Protection). 1999. Protection of the Public in Situations of Prolonged Radiation Exposure. Publication 82, Elsevier Science B.V.
• Jacobs, J.A., 1956. Earth`s Interior. In: Incyclopedia of Physics, S. Flugge (ed.), Springer-Verlag, Belin, pp. 389ff.
• Jeffreys, H., 1952. The Earth. 3rd ed., Cambridge University Press.
• Khan, A. J., Prasad, R., and Tyagi, R. K., 1992. Measurement of radon exhalation rate from some building materials. Nuclear Tracks and Radiation Measurements 20, 609-710.
• Khayrat, A.H., Oliver, M.A., Durrani, S.A., 2001. The effect of soil particle size on soil radon concentration. Radiation Measurements 34, 365–371.
• Kochenov, A.V., and Baturin, G.N., 2002. The Paragenesis of Organic Matter, Phosphorus, and Uranium in Marine Sediments. Lithology and Mineral Resources 37 (2), 107-120.
• Maged, A.F., and Ashraf, F.A., 2005. Radon exhalation rate of some building materials used in Egypt. Environmental Geochemistry and Health 27, 485–489.
• Morawska, L., 1989. Two Ways of Determining the 222Rn Emanation Coefficient. Health Phys. 57, 481– 483.
• Najam, L.A., Tawfiq, N.F., and Mahmood, R.H., 2013. Radon Concentration in Some Building Materials in Iraq Using CR-39 Track Detector. International Journal of Physics 1, 73-76.
• NCRP (National Council for Radiation Protection and Measurements), 1987. Report no. 93.
• Rafique, M., and Rathore, M.H., 2013 Determination of radon exhalation from granite, dolerite and marbles decorative stones of the Azad Kashmir area. Pakistan Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol 10, 1083–1090.
• Senftle, F.E., and Keevil, N.B., 1947. Thorium-uranium ratios in the theory of genesis of lead Ores. Trans. Amer. Geophys. Un. 28, 732- 738.
• Sharma, N., Jaspal Singh, J., Esakki, S.C., Tripathi, R.M., 2016. A study of the natural radioactivity and radon exhalation rate in some cements used in India and its radiological significance. Journal of Radiation Research and Applied Sciences 9, 47-56.
• Singh, A. K., Sengupta, D., and Prasad, R., 1999. Radon exhalation rate and uranium estimation in rock samples from Bihar uranium and copper mines using the SSNTD technique. Appl. Radiat. Isot. 51, 107–113.
• Somogyi, G., 1990. The environmental behaviour of radium. Technical reports series no. 310, vol.1, IAEA, Vienna,247–256.
• Sroor, A., El-Bahi, S.M., Ahmed, F., and Abdel-Haleem, A.S., 2001. Natural radioactivity and radon exhalation rate of soil in southern Egypt. Appl. Radiat. Isot. 55, 873–879.
• Ubeid, K.F., and Albatta, A., 2014. Sand dunes of the Gaza Strip (southwestern Palestine): morphology, textural characteristics and associated environmental impacts. Earth Sciences Research Journal, 18, 131-142.
• Ubeid, K.F., and Ramadan, K.A., 2017. Activity concentration and spatial distribution of radon in beach sands of Gaza Strip, Palestine. Journal of Mediterranean Earth Sciences 9, 19-28.
• UNEP, 2009. Environmental assessment of the Gaza Strip, following the escalation of hostilities in December 2008–January 2009. United Nations Environment Program, Palestine.
• UNSCEAR (United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation). 2000. Sources and Effects of Ionizing Radiation. New York.