Effects of local building materials on indoor gamma doses and related radiological health risks, Ayvacik, Çanakkale/Turkey

In situ indoor gamma dose rate measurements were held in 79 dwellings by NaI(Tl) scintillation probe connected portable dose rate meter. For the building materials and impurities (nodules), spectrometric gamma analysis was applied by a high-resolution HpGe detector. For Ahmetçe and Nusratlı villages in Ayvacik/Çanakkale (Turkey), the measured in situ indoor gamma dose rates and related indoor annual effective dose equivalents (AEDE_in) were 3 and 3.3 times, and indoor excess lifetime cancer risks (ELCR_in) were 4.25 and 4.68 times higher than those of the world averages, respectively. The used local rocks were mostly ignimbrite and dacitic–rhyolitic tuffaceous (Arıklı tuff), and wall plasters were made of local soil. The highest in situ indoor gamma dose rates of the region belonged to Nusratlı village due to the intense impurities (nodules) and hydrothermal alterations in Arıklı tuff. Spectrometric gamma results revealed that ⁴⁰K has an important effect on the indoor gamma doses.