Gamma activity of stream sediment feldspars as ceramic raw materials and their environmental impact

In situ gamma spectrometric measurements have been performed to characterise the natural radiation that emitted from the stream sediment feldspars in Wadi El Missikat and Wadi Homret El Gergab, Eastern Desert, Egypt. The measurements of potassium (K, %), equivalent uranium (eU, ppm) and equivalent thorium (eTh, ppm) were converted into specific activities and equivalent dose rate. The average specific activities were 1402 Bq kg(-1) for K, 113 Bq kg(-1) for eU and 108 Bq kg(-1) for eTh in Wadi El Missikat, while they were 1240, 104 and 185 Bq kg(-1) in Wadi Homret El Gergab. The calculated outdoor average effective dose rates was 1.1 mSv y(-1) in wadi El Missikat and 1.3 mSv y(-1) in Wadi Homret El Gergab. The terrestrial-specific activities and effective dose rate levels of the natural radioactivity in the two areas lie within the international recommended limits for occupational feldspar quarry workers. On the other hand, these results indicated that irradiation is higher than the allowable level for members of the public. Therefore, quarrying the feldspar sediments from these locations as ceramic raw materials may yield an undesired impact on the environment, especially through the indoor applications.