Natural Radioactivity and Radiological Hazard Effects from Granite Rocks in the Gabal Qash Amir Area, South Eastern Desert, Egypt

• Published in: Minerals (Basel) Vol. 12; no. 7; p. 884
• Main Authors: Emad, Bahaa M., Sayyed, M. I., Somaily, Hamoud H., Hanfi, Mohamed Y.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.07.2022
• Subjects: Building materials; Calibration; Cancer; Construction; Construction materials; Deserts; Dosage; Economics; Efficiency; Equivalence; excess lifetime cancer; Extraction procedures; Fractures; Gamma rays; Geology; Granite; granite rocks; Health problems; Health risks; Investigations; Mica; Mineralization; Minerals; Monazite; Muscovite; Natural radioactivity; Radiation; radioactive; Radioactivity; Radioisotopes; Radionuclide kinetics; Radium; radium equivalent content; Risk assessment; Rock; Rocks; Sediments; Sensors; terrestrial; Thorium isotopes; Wolframite; Xenotime; Zircon; Eastern Desert; Egypt
• DOI: 10.3390/min12070884
• ISSN: 2075-163X

The existence of radioactivity linked to the heavy-bearing minerals in building materials—such as granite—has increased attention to the extraction procedure. Granite rocks play an essential economic role in various areas of Egypt. Thus, this study intended to detect the 238U, 232Th, and 40K activity concentrations in the examined granite samples and to determine the corresponding radiological risks associated with the granite. The studied rocks were collected in the Gabal Qash Amir area (south Eastern Desert, Egypt). The obtained results of the activity concentrations for 238U (193 ± 268) Bq/kg, 232Th (63 ± 29) Bq/kg, and 40K (1034 ± 382) Bq/kg indicated that there were moderate concentrations in the investigated samples, which were greater than the worldwide average. The radioactivity levels in the studied granite samples are due to the secondary alteration of radioactive-bearing minerals associated with cracks of granites (secondary minerals in muscovite granites are wolframite, uraninite, uranophane, beta-uranophane, autunite, xenotime, columbite, zircon, and monazite). The radiological risk assessment for the public from the radionuclides that were associated with the studied granite samples was predicted via estimating the radiological hazard factors, such as the radium equivalent content (362 Bq kg−1), compared with the recommended limit. The dosing rate Dair in the air (169.2 nGy/h), the annual effective dose both outdoors (AEDout ~ 0.21 ± 0.17 mSv) and indoors (AEDin ~ 0.83 ± 0.67 mSv), the annual gonadal dose equivalent (AGDE ~ 1.18 ± 0.92 mSv), as well as the external (Hex) and internal (Hin) hazard indices (>1), and another factor were associated with excess lifetime cancer risk. According to the statistical investigation, the studied granites were inappropriate for use in construction and infrastructure fields. They may induce health problems due to the radioactivity levels, which exceed the recommended limits.