Ionizing radiation shielding effectiveness of decorative building materials (porcelain and ceramic tiles) used in Bangladeshi dwellings

Samples of several brands of tiles popularly used in Bangladeshi dwellings have been evaluated in terms of their efficacy towards shielding of ionizing radiation. These decorative tile samples, differing in material composition, colour, thickness and density, were collected from home and abroad. Using a well-shielded high-purity germanium γ-ray spectrometer, evaluation was made of the attenuation coefficients of the investigated tiles for various photon energies, 59 keV, 661 keV, 1173 keV and 1332 keV. In addition, use was also made of energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, both techniques being applied in characterizing dosimetric properties of these tiles. The associated shielding parameters of half-value layer, radiation protection efficiency and effective atomic number (Z_eff) were calculated. Among the basic building materials such as brick, concrete, marble, tiles etc., the tiles under study have shown better indices as ionizing radiation shielding materials, being comparable with steel. The Z_eff values of the studied tiles are comparable with that of the commercially available dosimeter TLD-200, and thus can be considered a potential material for use in environmental radiation monitoring.