Radioactivity in zircon and building tiles

Abstract

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 (γ +β) 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-2. Although no elevated γ-ray radiation or radon exhalation rate was detected in rooms decorated with glazed tiles, which is characteristic of combined α,β and γ emitting thin materials, the average γ-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 β 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 β 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 β-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 β-rays and γ-rays from zircon sand or glazed tile stacks. No elevated radiation from unglazed tiles was detected.