EFFECTS OF COVERINGS ON RADIATION EXPOSURE RATE IN SOME INDOOR ENVIRONMENTS

Abstract

The effects of covering materials used for the interior building surfaces; the walls, ceilings and floors of some buildings in Ogbomoso on the radiation exposure rates have been investigated in this work using an accurately calibrated scintilometer. The combinations of covering materials assessed in this work are of three categories: A – tex-coat paint, asbestos and carpet; B – emulsion paint, asbestos and bare floor and C – ceramic tiles, asbestos and carpet. The dose rate values obtained varied between 4.04±0.05 x 10^-5 µЅv h^-1 to 5.12±0.05 x 10^-5 µЅv h^-1 for A, 4.04±0.04 x 10^-5 µЅv h^-1 to 5.60±0.04 x 10^-5 µЅv h^-1 for B and 4.61±0.04 x 10^-5 µЅv h^-1 to 6.66±0.05 x 10^-5 µЅv h^-1 for C. The data obtained showed that the dose rate values are highest in the C – type buildings while the lowest values are obtained in the B – type buildings. The mean effective dose for A, B and C buildings are 0.3400±0.0018 µSv y^-1, 0.3520±0.0019 µSv y^-1 and 0.3735±0.0019 µSv y^-1 respectively.