Assessment of external gamma exposure and radon levels in a dwelling constructed with phosphogypsum plates

Máduar, Marcelo Francis; Campos, Marcia P.; Mazzilli, B. P.; Villaverde, F.L.

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2011.03.019

Cited by 30 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 8 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Epidemiological and toxicological studies have shown that long term exposure to radon increases the risk of lung cancer [15][16][17][18][19]. This risk is mainly associated with the abovementioned radon decay products 218 Po, 214 Pb, 214 Bi and 214 Po that are very reactive metallic ions [20,21].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of indoor-generated airborne particles on radon progeny dynamics

Trassierra

Stabile

Cardellini

et al. 2016

Journal of Hazardous Materials

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In order to investigate the interaction between radon progeny and particles, an experimental campaign was carried out in a radon chamber at the Italian National Institute of Ionizing Radiation Metrology, quantifying the amount of attached and unattached radon daughters present in air, as well as the equilibrium factor in the presence of particles generated through indoor sources. A fixed radon concentration was maintained, while particles were generated using incense sticks, mosquito coils and gas combustion. Aerosols were characterized in terms of particle concentrations and size distributions. Simultaneously, radon concentration and attached/unattached potential alpha energy concentration in the air were continuously monitored by two different devices, based on alpha spectroscopy techniques. The presence of particles was found to affect the attached fraction of radon decay products, in such a way that the particles acted as a sink for radionuclides. In terms of sources which emit large particles (e.g. incense, mosquito coils), which greatly increase particle surface area concentrations, the Equilibrium Factor was found to double with respect to the background level before particle generation sessions. On the contrary, the radon decay product dynamics were not influenced by gas combustion processes, mainly due to the small surface area of the particles emitted.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of indoor-generated airborne particles on radon progeny dynamics

Trassierra

Stabile

Cardellini

et al. 2016

Journal of Hazardous Materials

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Taking this into account, together with the elevated concentrations of 226 Ra in phosphogypsum, the radon concentration in the living areas of buildings should be high as well. This was proved recently by Máduara et al (2011), who measured radon concentrations of ~100 Bq m −3 during longterm radon tests (three months) conducted in a special model room built of wallboards with 10-15 mm thickness produced from phosphogypsum having 226 Ra activity concentration of ~400 Bq kg −1 . Because of elevated levels of 226 Ra and high values of the radon exhalation rate, building materials containing phosphogypsum could result in elevated radiation exposures (from both gamma radiation and inhalation of radon) to building occupants.…”

Section: Phosphogypsummentioning

confidence: 69%

Radioactive materials

Kovler

2012

Toxicity of Building Materials

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…The specific activities of the radionuclides 226 Ra, U, 232 Th, 228 Ra, and 210 Po have been determined at different production sites, and phosphogypsum can be classified as a TENORM (Technologically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material). Recent approaches have focused on the assessment of radionuclides activity concentration in building materials [ 33 , 34 , 35 ]. To evaluate the radiological impact associated with the use of phosphogypsum, a pilot study was performed to investigate gamma exposure and radon concentration [ 34 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent approaches have focused on the assessment of radionuclides activity concentration in building materials [ 33 , 34 , 35 ]. To evaluate the radiological impact associated with the use of phosphogypsum, a pilot study was performed to investigate gamma exposure and radon concentration [ 34 ]. This approach consisted of developing a prototype using building materials based on phosphogypsum as a secondary raw material, simulating the application of new materials.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Due to the variation in the density, this index can be adjusted by an expression, considering the density of the materials and the wall thickness [ 33 , 35 ]. With regard to Brazilian phosphogypsum, the authors verified that the external exposure dose should be <1 mSv y − 1 , this being the recommended value for the protection of the public against the radiological impact of naturally occurring radioactive materials [ 34 , 36 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Production of Synthetic Phosphoanhydrite and Its Use as a Binder in Self-Leveling Underlayments (SLU)

2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

An experimental study was conducted to investigate the potential use of phosphogypsum (PG) to produce self-leveling underlayments. The study was designed in two stages. Initially a phosphoanhydrite (PA) was produced by heating phosphogypsum at temperatures of 350 °C, 450 °C, 550 °C, and 650 °C. Two periods of heating were applied (2 and 4 h). The formation of anhydrite was determined by thermogravimetric analysis (DTA-TG) and confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results show that anhydrite II was obtained at temperatures above 450 °C, and at higher calcination temperatures the PA solubility was lower. In the second stage of this research, the PA was used in self-leveling underlayments as the main binder in the ternary system comprised of calcium sulfate, calcium aluminate cement, and Portland cement. Self-leveling mortar screeds produced using PA (550 °C/4 h) and PA (650 °C/4 h) showed the best performance in terms of mechanical strength and no degradation was observed after immersion and immersion-drying tests. The formation of ettringite, identified by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), may have contributed to these results. Morphological changes were studied using the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) technique.

show abstract

Assessment of external gamma exposure and radon levels in a dwelling constructed with phosphogypsum plates

Cited by 30 publications

References 8 publications

Effect of indoor-generated airborne particles on radon progeny dynamics

Effect of indoor-generated airborne particles on radon progeny dynamics

Radioactive materials

Production of Synthetic Phosphoanhydrite and Its Use as a Binder in Self-Leveling Underlayments (SLU)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About