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PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
2
pubmed:dateCreated
1997-8-7
pubmed:abstractText
Zircon (ZrSiO4) is commonly used in the manufacture of glazed tiles. In this study we found high concentrations of the radionuclides 226Ra, 232Th, 40K in zircon sand. The average radium equivalent (A(Ra) + 1.26 A(Th) + 0.086 A(k)) in zircon sand is 17,500 Bq kg(-1), which is 106 times as much as that in ordinary building materials. The external radiation (gamma + beta) dose rates in air at 5 cm from the surface of piles of zircon sand sacks range from 1.1 to 4.9 x 10(-2) mGy h(-1) with an average of 2.1 x 10(-2) mGy h(-1). Although no elevated gamma-ray radiation or radon exhalation rate was detected in rooms decorated with glazed tiles, which is characteristic of combined alpha, beta and gamma emitting thin materials, the average gamma-ray radiation dose rate at the surface of the tile stacks in shops is 1.5 times as much as the indoor background level. The average area density of total beta emitting radionuclides in glazed floor tiles and glazed wall tiles is 0.30 Bq cm(-2) and 0.28 Bq cm(-2), respectively. It was estimated that the average beta dose rates in tissue at a depth 7 mg cm(-2) with a distance 20-100 cm from the floor tiles were 3.2 to 0.9 x 10(-7) Gy h(-1). The study indicates that the beta-rays from glazed tiles might be one of the main factors leading to an increase in ionizing radiation received by the general public. Workers in glazed tile manufacturing factories and in tile shops or stores may be exposed to elevated levels of both beta-rays and gamma-rays from zircon sand or glazed tile stacks. No elevated radiation from unglazed tiles was detected.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Aug
pubmed:issn
0017-9078
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
73
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
369-72
pubmed:dateRevised
2000-12-18
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1997
pubmed:articleTitle
Radioactivity in zircon and building tiles.
pubmed:affiliation
Sichuan Institute of Labor Hygiene, Chendu, Sichuan Province, China.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article