Abstract
Various commercially imported ceramic materials used in the building of Sudanese dwellings were examined in order to determine their natural radioactivity and radiological hazard parameters. In this context, twenty-five different consignments were sampled and analyzed using (3 '' x 3 '') sodium iodide gamma spectrometry system NaI(Tl). The identified average activity concentrations of U-238, Th-232, and K-40 were 183 +/- 70, 51 +/- 44, and 238 +/- 77 Bq/kg dry-weights, respectively A positive correlation between U-238 and Th-232 in the investigated samples was identified from the observed significant correlation (R-2 = 0.8). Interestingly, a low Th/U ratio (similar to 0.3) was recorded, which could be related to the systematic loss of thorium during the fabrication process. The measured activity concentrations for these radionuclides were comparable with the reported data obtained from similar materials used in other countries showing similarity in ceramic materials used in buildings. Five different radiation indices, such as the average radium equivalent (Ra-e(q)), the absorbed dose rate (D), the annual effective dose equivalent (AEDE), the external hazard index (H-ex), and the radioactivity level index (l gamma), which indicate hazardous radiation, were estimated from these measurements. The obtained results revealed average values of 274 +/- 106 Bq/kg, 125 +/- 48 nGy/h, 1.23 +/- 0.48 mSv/y, 0.74 +/- 0.29, and 0.94 +/- 0.37, for Ra-eq, D, AEDE, H-ex, and l gamma, respectively. The mean values of Ra-eq and H-ex were in good agreement with the international limits, while the means of D and l gamma were higher than the universal values. Calculated AEDE in about 60% of the samples exceeded the universal limit of 1 mSv/y for the public exposure (maximum value of 2.16 mSv/y). The investigated parameters were in the same range for the majority of imported samples; however, they were slightly higher than the locally produced ceramic, highlighting the importance of monitoring imported materials for their radioactivity contents.