Pietra Leccese and Other Natural Stones in Puglia Region: A New Category of Building Materials for Radiation Protection?

In this paper, an in-depth and systematic study of the radiological characterization of three types of Puglia region natural limestones (Pietra Leccese, Pietra Mazzara and Carparo) was carried out. The investigation was performed by XRF spectroscopy for a chemical analysis, and gamma spectroscopy of the specific activity concentration of natural radionuclides 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K. Although the limestone does not fall within the category included by Italian Legislative Decree 101/2020, the gamma index was calculated using the results of the gamma spectroscopy measurements. For Pietra Mazzara and Carparo stones, the gamma index was found to be less than the reference value; conversely Pietra Leccese was found to be higher. To obtain a more complete evaluation of the external exposure, radium equivalent activity and external radiation hazard were calculated for all analyzed stones. The results suggest the need to broadly consider the radiological risk for these stones, and for limestone more generally, when used as a building material.