Radioactivity in building materials: experimental methods,calculations and an overview of the italian situation

First, models (room models) published in the international literature allowing the exposure togamma radiation indoors due to building materials to be assessed are reviewed and discussed. Forone of them, a sensitivity analysis regarding the effect of changing the parameters (e.g. dimensionsof the room, thickness and density of the walls, etc.) used in calculations is performed. Second, amethod is proposed for calculating the activity concentration in the walls of a room using: a) themeasured absorbed dose rate in air in the room; b) the contributions of natural radionuclides (238U,232Th and 40K) to the absorbed dose rate in air assessed by means of gamma spectrometry indoors;c) the specific dose rate (nGyh-1 per Bqkg-1) of natural radionuclides, for the chosen roomgeometry, calculated with the room model. Finally, published data on radioactivity concentration inItalian building materials is reviewed. This data is used to assess the marketing impact ofintroducing limitations on the use of these materials.