Radioactivity in porcelain for artificial teeth and the resulting dose in tissue

Abstract

Presence of U-238, K-40 and small traces of Tl-208 and Cs-137 were found to be present in dental porcelain through a gamma spectral scan performed using high Purity Germanium Lithium Scintillation detector coupled to NlD-66 Multi-Channel Analyzer. Daughter products of U-238 were identified as Ra-226, Pb-214 and Bi-214. The activity of each of these radionuclides was determined. The percentage concentration of U-238 was found to be 0.02%. Particle emission rates were btained using O'Riordand and Hunt's correlation of U-238 concentration and particle emission rate.