Measuring and analyzing the radioactivity released from construction floor materials

Abstract

This study measures the radioactivity contained in samples of floor materials used in construction. We would like to use the study as a basic document for the nation's health and environment. Among construction floor materials, we chose pantheon, red pearl, royal pearl, and tan brown as samples and put them on a detector of highpurity germanium (HPGe) analysis by using a multichannel analyzer (MCA). In order to measure the concentrations of radionuclides, we set the measurement times at 1000 seconds, 4000 seconds, 7000 seconds, and 10,000 seconds, analyzed the concentrations of gamma radionuclides. As a result, Bi-214, Pb-214, Ra-226, and K-40 were detected in pantheon when the measurement time was 10,000 seconds, and Bi-214 was the highest, with a 0.08 Bq/g concentration. For red pearl, we detected Rn-222, K-40, Th-234, Bi-214, Pb-214, and Ra-226. Here, Rn-222 was the highest with a 4.8 Bq/g concentration. For royal pearl, we detected Rn-222, K-40, Th-234, Bi-214, Pb-214, and Ra-226, and Rn-222 was the highest, with a 7.0 Bq/g concentration. Finally, for tan brown, we detected Rn-222, K-40, Bi-214, and Pb-214. Rn-222 was the highest with a 3.8 Bq/g concentration. Though we have detected only low-level radionuclides, we still need to monitor the concentration of radionuclides from time to time.