Assessment of Terrestrial Radionuclides and Radiological Risk within Indigenous Construction Materials: A Case Study from the Liwale District, Tanzania

Huruma Peter Mammba; Machibya A. Anthony

doi:10.15392/2319-0612.2026.3053

Autores/as

Huruma Peter Mammba Tume ya Nguvu za Atomu Tanzania
Machibya A. Anthony Tume ya Nguvu za Atomu Tanzania
- Redacción - borrador original
- Redacción - revisión y edición

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15392/2319-0612.2026.3053

Palabras clave:

Radionúclidos naturales, Riesgos radiológicos en interiores, Materiales de construcción

Resumen

Las elevadas tasas de ocupación en interiores representan una preocupación para la salud pública, debido principalmente a que los materiales de construcción contienen concentraciones significativas de radionúclidos naturales. Este estudio se inició en respuesta a un caso documentado de radiación gamma elevada en interiores en el distrito de Liwale. Su objetivo principal es evaluar los niveles de radiactividad natural en materiales de construcción extraídos de dicho distrito y valorar sus posibles riesgos radiológicos. Se examinaron los niveles de radionúclidos en veinticinco muestras de materiales de construcción mediante un espectrómetro de rayos gamma acoplado a un detector de germanio de alta pureza (HPGe).Las concentraciones de actividad promedio de ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th y ⁴⁰K fueron de 40.8±2.5 Bq kg⁻¹, 114.9±4.1 Bq kg⁻¹ y 311.9±14.5 Bq kg⁻¹, respectivamente; los valores para ²²⁶Ra y ²³²Th son ligeramente superiores al promedio mundial. Además, los valores promedio de los índices de riesgo radiológico fueron: Ra_eq, 229.1±9.6 Bq kg^-1; H_ex, 0.6; I, 0.8 y E_ff, 0.5 mSv y^-1. Cabe destacar que los valores promedio de todos los índices se mantuvieron dentro de los límites recomendados internacionalmente, lo que indica un riesgo radiológico bajo. Sin embargo, el 20% de las muestras (5 de 25) superaron los umbrales de seguridad para Ra_eq, H_ex e I, mientras que el 16% (4 de 25) sobrepasó el límite para E_ff.. Esto señala posibles riesgos radiactivos asociados con el uso de estos materiales de construcción. Por lo tanto, este estudio recomienda encarecidamente la implementación de medidas estrictas de control y cribado regulatorio para los materiales de construcción locales de este distrito.

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Biografía del autor/a

Huruma Peter Mammba, Tume ya Nguvu za Atomu Tanzania

Officer In Charge / Research Officer,

Southern Zone,

Tanzania Atomic Energy Commission.
Machibya A. Anthony, Tume ya Nguvu za Atomu Tanzania

Renior Research Officer,

Officer in Charge of Central Zone.

Tanzania Atomic Energy Commission (TAEC).

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