Data on natural radionuclide's activity concentration of cement-based materials

Cement based materials may contain varying levels of radionuclides, mainly ²²⁶Ra (from the ²³⁸U series), ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K, which are used to determine the Activity Concentration Index ("ACI"). According to the European directive Euratom 2013/59 in these materials, the "ACI" must be < 1 to be suitable for their use in construction. In this paper, data on the activity concentration of natural radionuclides in cement-based materials (i.e. cements, additions, pigments and aggregates) as well as their chemical composition are presented. Radioactivity measurements have been determined by using gamma spectroscopy the chemical compositions have been determined by X-Ray Fluorescence. Data for cements measured shown that white cements present a lower concentration of activity than conventional CEM I. In addition, the CAC (Calcium aluminate cements) present high activity concentration in the ²³²Th series. Regarding additions, FA (Fly Ash) are those that present the highest concentration of activity in the ²³⁸U and ²³²Th series, while olive biomass ashes are those supplementary cementitious materials that show the highest concentration of activity for ⁴⁰K. Some pigments used in mortar and concrete technology were also characterized. Granitic and volcanic rocks, potentially used as aggregates present much higher activity concentration than the siliceous aggregate.