Abstract

ESPINOSA, G; GOLZARRI, J.I; SANTIAGO, P  and  BOGARD, J.S. Optically stimulated luminescence response to ionizing radiation of red bricks (SiO₂, Al₂O₃ and Fe₂O₃) used as building materials. Rev. mex. fis. [online]. 2008, vol.54, suppl.1, pp.17-21. ISSN 0035-001X.

Quartz is the most common mineral in our environment. It is found in granite, hydrothermal veins and volcanic rocks, as well as in sedimentary deposits derived from such solid materials. These sediments are also made into building materials, such as bricks and pottery. Thus the potential use of a dose reconstruction technique based on quartz grains is enormous, whether as a dating tool in archaeology and quaternary geology, or in nuclear accident dosimetry. This work describes the Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) response of red brick to ionizing radiation. The bricks, from the state of Puebla, México, represent another class of materials that can be used in retrospective dosimetry following nuclear or radiological incidents. The chemical composition of fifteen bricks (three samples from five different brick factories) was determined, using energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), be primarily SiO₂, Al₂O₃ and Fe₂O₃ and is believed to be representative for this common building material. Individual aliquots from these bricks were powdered in agate mortars and thermally annealed. Replicate samples of the aliquots were then irradiated with beta particles from a sealed source of ⁹⁰Sr/⁹⁰Y. The OSL response was measured with a Daybreak Model 2200 High-Capacity OSL Reader System. We present here for this material the characteristic OSL response to beta particles; the reproducibility of the OSL response; the linearity of the response in the dose range 0.47 Gy to 47 Gy; and the fading characteristics.

Keywords : OSL; red brick; building material; retrospective dosimetry.

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