Title
Identifying the Presence of Natural Radionuclides in Ashlar Samples
Date Issued
01 June 2021
Access level
open access
Resource Type
research article
Author(s)
Fernandez, Alicia
Arenas, Elfer
Fernández, Enrique
MARTINEZ, JORGE
Quindos, Luis
Vilca Guillen, Mercedes
University of Cantabria
University of Cantabria
University of Cantabria
Publisher(s)
Sciendo
Abstract
Humans have always been exposed to different types of natural and cosmic radiation. At present we experience 83 % natural radiation, for example from granite marbles, building materials such as concrete, brick, granite, or drywall. However, although these are potential sources of radon, they are rarely the cause of a high level of pollution in a building.Ashlar is a material of volcanic origin comprising heterogeneous and solidified detrital pyroclastic materials such as rhyolite, sand, volcanic ash and pumice, among others. Chemically, ashlar is principally composed of elements such as sodium, magnesium, calcium, iron, aluminum, sulfur, and cobalt. In order to identify the presence of these elements in the ashlar, X-ray Fluorescence studies were carried out first, using modern XRD and XRF equipment, followed by quantitative analysis using a neutron activation technique, and finally, low-level gamma spectrometry to evaluate the presence of radioactive elements.
Start page
45
End page
49
Volume
17
Issue
1
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Ciencias naturales
Física nuclear
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85106559394
Source
Civil and Environmental Engineering
ISSN of the container
13365835
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Instituto Peruano de Energía Nuclear