Limitations on the concentration of radioactive elements substances (natural or enhanced by human activity) in building materials - a proposal for draft Israeli regulations

Natural radioactive elements 40K 228U and 232Th and their decay product such as 226Ra and its short lived daughters occur in building materials in relatively high concentrations. 40K and part of the above mentioned radionuclides cause external exposure while the inhalation of 222Ra and its short lived progeny lead to internal exposure of the respiratory tract to alpha particles. In recent years there is a growing tendency to use new construction materials with naturally or technologically enhanced levels of radioactivity (e.g. phosphogypsum, fly ash, exotic minerals etc). This trend causes a growing health concern.The result of this concern is legislation activity and publication of guidance notes by national authorities and international professional organizations related to the radiological implications of these novel technologies. The Ministry of the Environment in Israel is authorized by Israeli legislation to control the exposure of the public to ionising radiation. The ministry asked in 1996 a professional group in the Radiation Protection Division in the Soreq NRC (the authors of this presentation) to study the radiological implications of the use of building materials with naturally or technologically enhanced concentrations of radioactive substances, and to submit draft regulations setting primary limits on excess exposure of the public to ionizing radiation from building materials, and derived limits related to concentrations of specific radionuclides in these materials.The draft regulations will be presented and the way of their derivation will be reviewed (authors)