Radionuclide content of building materials and gamma ray dose rates in dwellings of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil

Thirty five samples of raw materials and building products were collected in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Norte. Concentrations of background radionuclides in samples were determined by gamma ray spectrometry with a HPGe detector. The radium equivalent activity in the 35 samples varied from 18.1 Bq.kg-1 (gypsum) to 806.7 Bq.kg-1 (granite). A handheld scintillometer was used for a radiological investigation in 244 dwellings and workplaces built with the materials being surveyed and located in eleven different towns of the state. The average gamma dose rates ranged from 59 nGy.h-1 (Natal) to 149 nGy.h-1 (Santana do Matos). (Author)