Radioactivity Measurements for Some Building Materials in Yemen and Simulation of the Annual Effective Dose

Fifty three samples of building materials were collected from two governorates in Yemen (Taiz and Hodeidah); these materials are used mostly in Yemen. Samples were measured for gamma radiation using HPGe detector. The specific absorbed dose rates due to the three natural radionuclides 226 Ra, 232 Th and 40 K in the most used types of building materials in Yemen such as (ordinary concrete, granite stone and cement brick) were calculated. The calculations were done for a model of spherical shaped room of radius 150 cm, thickness 30cm and variable density that varies according to the supposed material in the two selected cities (Taiz and Hodeidah). Stranden model is considered here with some modification in order to fit the specifications of the room in Yemen. The calculated annual effective dose rates for the ordinary concrete in the two cities were 329.452 and 294.250 (Hodeidah and Taiz) µSv/y respectively, in the granite stone was 1029.829 µSv/y, and in the cement brick was 929.497 µSv/y.