Radiological, geochemical, and mineralogical characterization of natural stones used in Turkey

Abstract

In the study, radiological, geochemical, and mineralogical characterization of natural stone samples used for covering or ornamental purposes collected from different quarries in Turkey was done using gamma spectrometric technique with high-purity germanium detector, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopic technique, X-ray diffraction technique and thin sections. The mean activity concentrations of226Ra,232Th, and40K were measured in natural stone samples as 28.9, 30.8, and 355.0 Bqkg-1, respectively. The assessment of radiological hazards from utilization of stone samples as covering or ornamental material in building sector was made by estimating activity concentration index, absorbed gamma dose rate and annual effective dose rate. The examined natural stone samples were composed of calcite, dolomite, quartz, orthoclase, albite, biotite, hornblende, oligoclase, olivine and talc.