IOP PUBLISHING J. Radiol. Prot.

27 (2007) 481492

JOURNAL OF RADIOLOGICAL PROTECTION doi:10.1088/0952-4746/27/4/009

Natural radioactivity hazards of building bricks fabricated from saline soil of two districts of Pakistan
M Tufail1,3 , Nasim-Akhtar2 , Sabiha-Javied1,4 and Tehsin Hamid1
1 2

Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences, PO 45650, Nilore, Islamabad, Pakistan Nuclear Institute of Agriculture and Biology, Jhang Road, Faisalabad, Pakistan

E-mail: mtufail@pieas.edu.pk and dr mtufail@yahoo.com

Received 9 August 2007, in nal form 5 November 2007, accepted for publication 7 November 2007 Published 27 November 2007 Online at stacks.iop.org/JRP/27/481 Abstract Primordial radionuclides in building materials are one of the sources of radiation hazard in dwellings made of those materials. Activity concentrations of primordial radionuclides 40 K, 226 Ra and 232 Th have been measured in house building bricks fabricated from saline soil. Forty samples of the bricks were collected from the brick fabrication sites and brick baking kilns in and around the saline soil areas of the districts of Lahore and Faisalabad in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The technique of gamma-ray spectroscopy using an HPGe detector with a PC-based multi-channel analyser was applied for determination of activity concentrations in the brick samples. The activity mass concentrations of 40 K, 226 Ra and 232 Th measured in the brick samples were respectively 567.7 38.3 (493631), 28.4 3.8 (2335), and 56.0 4.6 (4665) Bq kg1 . The radiological hazards of the bricks were calculated using various models given in the literature. The radium equivalent activity was less than the accepted standard criterion value of 370 Bq kg1 and the values of other hazard indices were also below their limit values. The radiological hazard parameters of the bricks under investigation have been compared with those from other locations of Pakistan and also from some other countries in Asia.

1. Introduction Radionuclides have been present in the Earths crust since it was created. The primordial radionuclides 40 K, 226 Ra and 232 Th are present everywhere in variable amounts [1] and are incorporated in building materials. Indeed, the main source of radiation in building materials is natural radioactivity [2], and the concentration of primordial radionuclides in such building materials depends upon the origin of crustal material of which they are composed.
3 Author to whom any correspondence should be addressed. 4 Sponsored by HEC, Pakistan.

0952-4746/07/040481+12$30.00 2007 IOP Publishing Ltd

Printed in the UK

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Naturally occurring radionuclides in building materials are a source of external and internal radiation exposure in dwellings [3]. Human beings in houses are exposed externally to gammarays and internally to alpha-, beta- and gamma-rays emitted from radon and its progeny [46]. The main source of external exposure in dwellings is gamma-rays emitted by the members of naturally occurring uranium and thorium decay series and by 40 K present in construction materials [7]. Natural radioactivity is the largest contributor to the external dose of the world population [1]; therefore the assessment of gamma radiation dose from natural sources is of particular importance. The dose rate varies depending upon the concentrations of the radionuclides 226 Ra (derived from 238 U), 232 Th, their progeny and 40 K, present in building materials, which in turn depends upon the geological origin of the rock or soil of which those building materials are composed [8]. The radionuclide content of building bricks used in the Punjab province of Pakistan has been determined in this study. The natural radioactivity in clay bricks has been reported by many authors [9, 10], and it provides a basis for estimating external exposure in brick-built houses [11]. Bricks made of soil are the major component of construction materials in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The soil of the region contains clay that consists of ne grains of less than 4 m in size and it can be shaped when moist [12]. Bricks are made by compressing the moist soil into blocks of size 3 4 9 in3 . Almost all the houses in the countryside of the Punjab province are made of baked and unbaked compressed soil (clay) bricks. Old houses are made of mud, whereas new construction uses baked and unbaked clay bricks. Except for a few public buildings, almost all the private and public houses in the cities of the Punjab province are made of baked clay bricks. Some of the public and commercial buildings are constructed in columnbeam structures in which walls are made of concrete blocks. The number of these buildings may be of the order of 12% of the total. Therefore, soil-based bricks are the dominant component of walls in the houses of the Punjab region. The present study relates to compressed soil (clay) bricks fabricated from the saline soil areas of the Lahore and Faisalabad districts of Pakistan. Clay bricks used for construction of houses in the area are made from the local soil of the area. The soil of the area, being saline, is not very satisfactory for the growing of crops. Most of the area is barren and is covered with unwanted shrubs and trees. However, the soil is suitable for the fabrication of clay bricks. The shrubs and trees along with coal (peat) are used as fuel in the brick baking kilns. Therefore, a large number of brick fabrication sites and kilns have been developed in the area. Bricks fabricated in the area under study are not only used locally, but are also supplied in various parts of Pakistan. It is, therefore, important to assess the radiation hazards arising from these clay bricks due to their extensive use. For the determination of natural radionuclide concentrations in the environmental samples, various measurement techniques are applied. Gamma-ray activity can be measured with NaI(Tl) and HPGe detectors. The most common technique is the measurement of activity concentrations with HPGe detectors coupled to a PC-based multi-channel analyser (MCA). In this paper, activity concentrations of 40 K, 226 Ra and 232 Th are reported that were measured by HPGe-based gamma-ray spectrometry. Radium equivalent activity and other hazard indices were assessed based on accepted specic criteria for the evaluation of the radiological impact of building materials. 2. Experimental methods 2.1. Sample collection and preparation Twenty samples of clay brick were collected from the saline soil area of Pakka Anna at 31 24 N, 73 05 E, 34 km south west of Faisalabad city, and 20 samples were collected

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Figure 1. Map of Pakistan showing the location of the study area.

(This gure is in colour only in the electronic version)

from the Rakh Dera Chal saline area at 30 45 N, 74 30 E, 30 km south east of Lahore city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The locations of Faisalabad and Lahore are shown in the map of Pakistan provided as gure 1. The samples were collected from the brick fabrication sites in saline soil areas around the brick baking kilns. The brick samples were kept in polyethylene bags which were numbered and catalogued for identication. The samples were brought to the sample preparation section of the low-level activity measurement laboratory. The brick samples were crushed, ground, and pulverised to powder. The powder was passed through a sieve of 200 mesh size. The samples in powder form were dried at 110 C in a temperature-controlled furnace until there was no detectable change in the mass of the sample. The samples were transferred to radon-impermeable plastic containers of 6 cm diameter and 6.5 cm height. The reference material, IAEA Soil 375, was also transferred to a container of the same material and same dimensions as were used for the soil samples. The samples and the reference material were stored for more than 40 days to achieve secular equilibrium between 226 Ra and 222 Rn [13]. The samples were shifted, one by one, to the low-level activity measurement laboratory of PIEAS for the measurement of activity concentrations. 2.2. Activity measurements The system employed for the measurement of activity concentration consisted of an HPGe detector coupled to a PC-based MCA of 8196 channels. The detector model was a CANBERRA Ge-3020, having a relative efciency of 30%, peak to Compton ratio 54, operating voltage 3000 V, placed in a chamber of 30 30 30 cm3 capacity with 10 cm thick lead shielding having an inner lining of 16 mm copper plus a 5 mm tin graded liner [14]. The spectrum of reference Soil 375 was collected for 65 000 s. Background spectra were

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M Tufail et al Table 1. Activity concentrations of primordial radionuclides in clay bricks from saline soil areas of Faisalabad and Lahore, Pakistan. Activity mass concentration (Bq kg1 ) Location Faisalabad Minimuma Maximuma Meanb Minimum Maximum Mean
40 K 226 Ra 232 Th

493 22 631 25 567.7 38.3 539 24 599 26 569.0 17.1

22 5 35 6 28.4 3.8 25 5 31 7 27.2 1.5

46 7 65 8 56.0 4.6 43 6 54 7 48.1 2.8

Lahore

a b

The minimum and maximum activity values of the samples with standard errors. The average value of all the 20 samples with one standard deviation.

collected using empty containers for the same period of time. Background was subtracted from the reference soil spectrum. The peak energies of interest in the spectrum have been quoted elsewhere [14]. From the areas under the specic peaks of the spectrum, peak efciencies were determined and plotted as a function of log of efciency versus log of energy. A polynomial of degree three was tted to the portion of interest in the efciency curve. The spectrum of each brick sample was collected for 65 000 s. Background was collected for two days at weekends. The average of background of two weekends, i.e. 4 days, was subtracted from the brick spectra collected during the week. The activity concentrations of 40 K, 226 Ra and 232 Th were determined for every sample. 3. Results and discussion 3.1. Activity mass concentration The natural radioactivity of clay bricks depends on the origin of clay which, in turn, depends upon the processes of soil formation. Also, chemical and biological interactions inuence the distribution pattern of uranium and thorium and their decay products in soil [15]. The activity mass concentrations of 226 Ra, 232 Th and 40 K measured in clay brick samples from the saline soil areas of interest are presented in table 1. The activity concentration ratio 232 Th/226 Ra was greater than unity for all the brick samples under consideration, which is in agreement with the global background data on activity concentrations in the Earths crust [16, 17]. The average concentration of 232 Th is about twice that of 226 Ra, whereas the concentrations of 40 K are much higher. The activity concentrations of 226 Ra, 232 Th and 40 K measured in brick samples from different locations of Pakistan have been compiled from the literature and are given in table 2. The average of the measured values of the activity concentrations of the radionuclides in the brick samples of the saline areas of Faisalabad and Lahore are also included in table 2. The activity mass concentrations of 40 K in the bricks of Faisalabad and Lahore are greater than those in the bricks of Jhelum and in some samples from Rawalpindi and Islamabad in the Punjab province, whereas they are smaller than those in all the brick samples of the north west frontier province (NWFP) of Pakistan. Average values of concentrations of all the radionuclides under consideration in the bricks of the NWFP and the Punjab province were calculated. The average values for the brick samples from the NWFP are slightly greater than those from the Punjab province. The deviations from the mean values of the NWFP bricks are relatively smaller than those

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Table 2. Activity concentrations of primordial radionuclides in clay bricks from some locations of Pakistan. Activity concentration (Bq kg1 ) Location No. of samples
40 K 226 Ra 232 Th

References

NWFP Charsada Dera Ismail Khan Dera Ismail Khan Mardan Nowshera Peshawar Peshawar + Nowshera + Mardan Risalpur Weighted average 60 90 5 80 50 70 21 50 426 680.3 778.5 791 784.4 750.3 753 646 720.6 745.10 Punjab Dera Ghazi Khan Gujrat Islamabad/Rawalpindi Islamabad/Rawalpindi Islamabad/Rawalpindi Islamabad/Rawalpindi Jhelum Kasur Lahore Faisalabad (Saline bricks) Lahore (Saline bricks) Weighted average 73 50 26 05 05 05 50 25 40 20 20 319 636 591 631 335 458 241 516 836.5 790 567.7 569.0 622.57 Pakistan Weighted average 745 692.63 45.50 61.76 50 39 43.2 27 29 33 39 54.6 50 28.4 27.2 42.62 69 63 53.7 29 31 33 51 69.6 64 56 48.1 59.50 [30] [31] [32] [33] [33] [33] [31] [34] [35] Present work Present work 41.9 51.9 34 49.5 48.9 47.6 65 36.9 47.66 67.6 65.2 49 64 62.6 60.3 84 52.5 63.45 [27] [27] [28] [27] [27] [27] [29] [27]

of the bricks from the Punjab province. The weighted average values of the radionuclide concentrations in all the brick samples from both provinces have been determined and are considered as representative values for Pakistan. These values are given in tables 2 and 3. The activity concentrations of 226 Ra and 232 Th in the brick samples from Faisalabad and Lahore are less than the average values for these radionuclides in bricks of the NWFP and the Punjab provinces. The data on clay bricks for some of the countries in Asia has been complied from literature and is represented in table 3 for comparison purposes. There is a great variation in the activity concentration values of 40 K, 226 Ra and 232 Th measured in the bricks of Asian countries under consideration. The activity concentration of 40 K in the bricks of India is relatively smaller and that of 226 Ra and 232 Th in the brick samples of Malaysia are relatively larger than those from the other countries. 3.2. Assessment of radiological hazards The ultimate use of the measured activity concentrations was to assess the radiological hazards of bricks fabricated from saline soils of the area under consideration. As more than one

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M Tufail et al Table 3. Activity concentrations of primordial radionuclides in clay bricks from some countries in Asia together with a world average. Activity concentration (Bq kg1 ) Location Bangladesh China China China (Xian) India (Amritsar) India (Batala) India (Batala) Iran (Tehran) Kuwait Malaysia Sri Lanka Pakistan World No. of samples 10 20
40 K 226 Ra 232 Th

References [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [40] [40] [41] [42] [43] [10] Present work [1]

45 3 24 745

292.25 717 683.9 713.9 47.2 48.5 38.7 700 332 685 585 692.63 400 (140850)

29.47 41 68.6 58.6 12.6 18.1 23.4 33 6.6 233 35 45.50 35 (1760)

52.5 52 56.4 50.4 63.7 32.1 14 30 6.6 229 72 61.76 30 (1164)

radionuclide contributes to the radiation dose, it is therefore common practice to present the hazard in terms of a single quantity called a hazard index. The activity concentrations of 226 Ra, 232 Th and 40 K measured in Bq kg1 are represented by the symbols ARa , ATh and AK , respectively, which occur in the mathematical relations for hazard indices dened in the following sections. Radiological hazard indices have been calculated for the brick samples from the study area, for different locations of Pakistan, and for some counties of Asia, for the purpose of comparison. If data were available for more than one location in a country, those data were averaged and the average value was taken as the representative value for that country. 3.2.1. Radium equivalent activity ( Raeq ). Radium equivalent activity is an index that has been introduced to represent the specic activities of 226 Ra, 232 Th and 40 K by a single quantity [18], which is calculated through the following relation [19]: Raeq = 370 or Raeq = ARa +
10 7

ARa ATh AK + + 370 259 4810 ATh +

10 130

(1)

AK .

Radium equivalent activity is the weighted sum of the activities of 226 Ra, 232 Th and 40 K based on the assumption that 10 Bq kg1 of 226 Ra, 7 Bq kg1 of 232 Th and 130 Bq kg1 of 40 K deliver equal gamma dose rates [20, 21]. From the radiological point of view, the maximum value of Raeq for a material must be as follows: Raeq 370 Bq kg1 . If Raeq is less than 370 Bq kg1 then the external dose rate will be below 1.5 mGy y1 [21, 22]. Radium equivalent activity has been calculated for the brick samples under consideration, and the results are presented in table 4. The values of Raeq ranging from 136.3 to 166.4 Bq kg1 are less than the maximum admissible value of 370 Bq kg1 [22]. The external annual dose rate, therefore, does not exceed 1.5 mGy. When the values of Raeq in the clay bricks of Faisalabad and Lahore areas are compared in table 5 with those of other areas of Pakistan, it is observed

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Table 4. Values of hazard indices for the brick samples of saline areas of Faisalabad and Lahore, Pakistan. (Note: Raeq radium equivalent activity, Hin internal hazard index, I gamma index, I alpha index.) Hazard indices Location Faisalabad Minimum Maximum Mean Minimum Maximum Mean Raeq (Bq kg1 ) 136.2 166.3 152.2 132.5 148.5 139.8

Hin
0.43 0.54 0.49 0.42 0.48 0.45

I
0.51 0.61 0.56 0.50 0.55 0.52

I
0.11 0.18 0.14 0.13 0.16 0.14

Lahore

Table 5. Values of hazard indices for bricks from some locations of Pakistan. Hazard indices Location Raeq (Bq kg1 ) NWFP Charsada Dera Ismail Khan Dera Ismail Khan Mardan Nowshera Peshawar Peshawar + Nowshera + Mardan Risalpur Weighted average 190.8 204.9 164.8 201.3 196.0 191.7 234.7 167.3 195.61 Punjab Dera Ghazi Khan Gujrat Islamabad/Rawalpindi Islamabad/Rawalpindi Islamabad/Rawalpindi Islamabad/Rawalpindi Jhelum Kasur Lahore Faisalabad (Saline bricks) Lahore (Saline bricks) Weighted average 197.5 174.5 168.5 94.2 108.5 98.7 151.5 218.4 202.2 152.1 139.7 187.00 Pakistan Weighted average 187.00 0.63 0.69 0.23 0.67 0.57 0.57 0.33 0.37 0.35 0.51 0.73 0.68 0.49 0.45 0.63 0.72 0.64 0.62 0.35 0.40 0.36 0.56 0.81 0.75 0.56 0.52 0.69 0.25 0.20 0.22 0.14 0.15 0.17 0.20 0.27 0.25 0.14 0.14 0.23 0.63 0.69 0.53 0.67 0.66 0.64 0.81 0.55 0.65 0.70 0.76 0.62 0.75 0.73 0.71 0.85 0.63 0.72 0.21 0.26 0.17 0.25 0.24 0.24 0.33 0.18 0.24

Hin

that bricks of Faisalabad and Lahore have a larger value of this index than that for some samples from Rawalpindi and Islamabad, but lower values than for other areas of Pakistan. In the bricks of Asian countries (table 6), the Raeq values range from 41.6 to 612.8 Bq kg1 , respectively, for Kuwait and Malaysia. The values for bricks of Pakistan lie within the world range: 43.5216.8 Bq kg1 . The value of Raeq for the Malaysian bricks is 1.65 times the limit

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Bangladesh China India Country Iran Kuwait Pakistan Sri Lanka World 0 50 100 150

M Tufail et al

200

Radium equivalent activity (Bq/kg)

Figure 2. Radium equivalent activity concentration of bricks from Pakistan in comparison with that of the bricks of some other countries in Asia. Table 6. Values of hazard indices for bricks from some countries of Asia. Hazard indices Location Bangladesh Chinaa Indiaa Iran Kuwait Malaysia Pakistan Sri Lanka World
a

Raeq (Bq kg1 ) 127.0 185.91 73.77 129.7 41.6 612.8 187.0 182.9 108.6 (43.5216.8)

Hin
0.42 0.65 0.25 0.44 0.13 2.28 0.63 0.59 0.39 (0.160.74)

I
0.46 0.69 0.26 0.49 0.17 2.15 0.69 0.67 0.40 (0.160.80)

I
0.15 0.28 0.09 0.17 0.03 1.17 0.23 0.18 0.18 (0.090.30)

Mean of the values calculated for the bricks from the locations given in table 3.

of 370 Bq kg1 . The population of Malaysia, according to the given data, is at signicant risk of external radiation in a room made of Malaysian clay bricks. For comparison purposes, Raeq for the countries of Asia under consideration except Malaysia are shown graphically in gure 2. The values of Raeq of the bricks of China, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are almost equal, but greater than those of other countries in comparison. 3.2.2. External hazard index ( Hex ). The external hazard index is another criterion to assess the radiological suitability of a building material. It is dened as follows [19]: ARa ATh AK Hex = + + . (2) 370 259 4810 To limit the external gamma radiation dose from building materials to 1.5 mGy y1 the external hazard index, Hex , should obey the following relation [22]:

Hex

1.

The external hazard index is obtained from the expression for Raeq through the supposition that its maximum allowed value (equal to unity) corresponds to the upper limit of Raeq

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(370 Bq kg1 ) so that the annual external dose rate does not exceed 1.5 mGy. The behaviour of Hex is similar to that of Raeq , because Hex = Raeq /370; therefore it has not been further discussed. 3.2.3. Internal hazards index ( Hin ). The internal hazard index is a criterion for indoor radiation hazard. In addition to gamma-rays, 222 Rn plays an important role for internal exposure in a room. Effectively, the radiotoxicity of 226 Ra is increased by a factor of two to allow for the contribution from 222 Rn and its short-lived progeny. The internal exposure due to radon and its daughter products is quantied by the internal hazard index, Hin, which has been dened as shown below [19]: ARa ATh AK Hin = + + . (3) 185 259 4810 The internal hazard index is dened so as to reduce the acceptable maximum concentration of 226 Ra to half the value appropriate to external exposure alone. For the safe use of a material in the construction of dwellings the following criterion was proposed by Krieger [22]:

Hin

1.

Using equation (3), internal hazard indices were calculated for the brick samples from Faisalabad and Lahore. The calculated values of Hin range from 0.43 to 0.54, as given in table 4. The values of Hin for bricks from other areas of Pakistan have been derived from the data given in table 2 using equation (3), and are given in table 5. The bricks from Faisalabad and Lahore have larger values of Hin than those of some samples from Rawalpindi and Islamabad, but less than the average values of this index for the bricks of the NWFP and the Punjab province of Pakistan. Values of Hin were also calculated for the bricks of some countries of Asia, and these values are given in table 6. The value of this index is less than unity for bricks of all countries of interest, except for bricks from Malaysia. The value of Hin for Pakistani bricks is 0.63, which lies within the world range of 0.160.74. 3.2.4. Gamma index ( I ). Another radiation hazard index, called the gamma activity concentration index, I , has been dened by the European Commission [23, 24] and is given as below: ARa ATh AK I = + + . (4) 300 200 3000 The index I is correlated with the annual dose rate due to the excess external gamma radiation caused by supercial material. Values of index I 2 correspond to a dose rate criterion of 0.3 mSv y1 , whereas 2 < I 6 corresponds to a criterion of 1 mSv y1 [23, 25]. Thus, the activity concentration index should be used only as a screening tool for identifying materials that might be of concern to be used as construction materials; though material with I > 6 should be avoided, since these values corresponds to dose rates higher than 1 mSv y1 [23], which is the highest value of dose rate recommended for population [1]. The European Commission (EC) suggests that building materials should be exempted from all restrictions concerning their radioactivity provided the excess gamma radiation originating from them does not increase the annual effective dose to a member of the public by more than 0.3 mSv [24]. Dose rates higher than 1 mSv y1 should be permitted only in some very exceptional cases where materials are used locally. The index I was estimated using equation (4). The distribution of values of the index I for the bricks analysed in this work is presented in table 4. Bricks are used in bulk for construction of houses in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The gamma index I for such bricks

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ranges from 0.51 to 0.61, which lies within the acceptable range of up to 1.0 for material used in bulk amounts. All the values of I are <2.0. Therefore, the annual effective dose delivered by buildings made of such bricks is smaller than the annual effective dose constraint of 0.3 mSv; hence the bricks can be exempted from all the restrictions concerning radioactivity. The average value of this index for the bricks of Faisalabad and Lahore is less than the average value of I for the bricks of the NWFP and the Punjab provinces. The gamma dose rates from the bricks from the two provinces of Pakistan given in table 5 are smaller than the general public dose constraint of 0.3 mSv y1 . The I value of Pakistani bricks given in table 6 is 0.70, which lies within the world range 0.160.80 but is larger than the world average value of 0.40.

3.2.5. Alpha index ( I ). The excess alpha radiation due to radon inhalation originating from building materials is assessed through the alpha index, which is dened as follows [24]:

I =

ARa . 200

(5)

The recommended exemption level and recommended upper level of 226 Ra activity concentrations are 100 Bq kg1 and 200 Bq kg1 , respectively, in building materials as suggested in many countries of the world [26]. When the 226 Ra activity concentration of a building material exceeds the value of 200 Bq kg1 , it is possible that radon exhalation from this material could cause indoor radon concentrations exceeding 200 Bq m3 . On the other hand, when the 226 Ra activity concentration is below 100 Bq kg1 , then radon exhalation from the building materials could not cause indoor radon concentrations exceeding 200 Bq m3 [26]. These considerations are reected in the alpha index. The recommended upper limit concentration of 226 Ra is 200 Bq kg1 , for which I = 1. As can be observed from table 1, the activity concentration values of 226 Ra in all the brick samples are less than the recommended exemption level of 100 Bq kg1 and I < 0.5. Therefore, radon inhalation from the brick samples under investigation is not so large as to restrict the use of these bricks in construction. This is also true for all the brick samples from various locations in Pakistan and some of the Asian countries under consideration.

4. Conclusions Activity mass concentrations of 40 K, 226 Ra and 232 Th in bricks made of saline soil of Faisalabad and Lahore districts have been measured using the technique of gamma-ray spectrometry with an HPGe detector. The concentrations are similar to those of other locations of Pakistan, but differ from those from other Asian countries under consideration. The activity concentration values of 40 K, 226 Ra and 232 Th for the bricks of Kuwait and Malaysia are at the lowest and the highest extremes, respectively. The values of hazard indices derived from the measured activity concentrations of primordial radionuclides in the brick samples from the areas under study are below the permissible limiting values. The value of Hex < 1; therefore, Raeq < 370 Bq kg1 and annual gamma doses in rooms made of such bricks are less than 1.5 mGy. Since Hin < 1 and I < 0.5, rooms made from bricks of the area under study should not pose a signicant problem of radon. The values of hazard indices for bricks from China, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are comparable but larger than those from other countries in the region, except for Malaysia, which has exceptionally high values of these indices. The values of radiological parameters for Indian bricks are about half of the world average values. The behaviour of other hazard indices is similar to that of Raeq .

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Acknowledgments One of the authors, Sabiha-Javied, acknowledges the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan and appreciates its nancial support through Indigenous Scholarship Scheme for PhD studies in Science and Technology. References
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