Radiological Characterization of pharmaceutical and cosmetic clays

Natural radionuclide activity concentration (U-235, U-238, U-234, Th-230, Ra-226, Th-232, Th-228, Ra-228 and K-40) in clay materials used for cosmetic and medical purposes was determined by alpha and gamma spectrometry. The activity concentration resulted in the range of 0.71 and 4.42 Bq kg(-1) for U-235, 15.1-91.4 and 15.3-81.6 Bq kg(-1) for U-238 and U-234, respectively, 18.7-72.4 Bq kg(-1) for Th-230, 27.6-59.7 for Ra-226, 7.80-55.0 and 8.76-58.1 for Th-232 and Th-228, 8.60-66.9 Bq kg(-1) for Ra-228 and 151.6-1,459 Bq kg(-1) for K-40. In an oral treatment, the intake was calculated and for some radionuclides the results were higher than the annual dietary intake