Natural radioactivity in building materials from the Brazilian state of Espírito Santo

In order to assess the radionuclide content of building materials utilized in the towns of Guarapari and Meiaipe, located in the Brazilian state Espírito Santo, 48 samples of raw materials and construction products were collected and shipped to our laboratory in Italy. Here, concentrations of background radionuclides in samples were determined by γ-ray spectroscopy with two HPGe detectors. The radium-equivalent activity concentrations in the samples varied between 14.6 (sand) and 1930 Bq kg−1 (plaster).