Assessment of Primordial Radionuclides in Pakistani Red Bricks and Associated Radiation Doses

Specific activity of primordial radionuclides and associated radiation hazards due to ⁴⁰K, ²²⁶Ra, and ²³²Th have been measured in backed red brick samples, collected from five highly populated areas of the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan. For the detection, analysis and data acquisition, a high purity germanium detector was used. Associated external doses were calculated using a Monte Carlo neutron photon transport code. A theoretical model to determine the gamma dose rate at 1 m height from the floor, made of bricks, was employed for the calculation of mass attenuation coefficient and self-absorption in the floor for the gamma energies of these radionuclides and their progeny. Monte Carlo simulation shows that in this study the floor, having more than an effective thickness of 15 cm, contributes very little to the external gamma dose rate. The values of the external dose rate and annual effective dose are found to be much lower than the world average as well as from other countries of the world.