International Journal of Environmental Science and Development

Abstract—Fifty three samples of building materials were collected from two governorates in Yemen (Taiz and Hodeidah); these materials are used mostly in Yemen. Samples were measured for gamma radiation using HPGe detector. The specific absorbed dose rates due to the three natural radionuclides 226Ra, 232Th and 40K in the most used types of building materials in Yemen such as (ordinary concrete, granite stone and cement brick) were calculated. The calculations were done for a model of spherical shaped room of radius 150 cm, sthicknes 30cm and variable density that varies according to the supposed material in the two selected cities (Taiz and Hodeidah). Stranden model is considered here with some modification in order to fit the specifications of the room in Yemen. The calculated annual effective dose rates for the ordinary concrete in the two cities were 329.452 and 294.250 (Hodeidah and Taiz)μ Sv/y respectively, in the granite stone was 1029.829 μSv/y, and in the cement brick was 929.497 μSv/y.

Index Terms—Activity concentrations, annual effective dose, MCNP code and Yemen radioactive contamination.

The authors are with Physics Dept., Faculty of science, Cairo University, 12613 Giza, Egypt (email: mmsherif@eun.eg; safayusuf5@gmail.com).

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Cite: M. M. Sherif and Safa. Y. Abdo, "Radioactivity Measurements for Some Building Materials in Yemen and Simulation of the Annual Effective Dose," International Journal of Environmental Science and Development vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 319-322, 2012.