In the present work, external annual radiation doses in human body due to presence
of 226Ra, 232Th, 238U and 40K in conventional building materials and by-products from
coal power plants which are being used or have the potential for use in buildings and
soil in India were calculated in the human body by using GENII radiation dose calculation
computer programme (Napier et al., 1988). In the calculations, human beings receive the
most radiation dose from building materials from 1.0 × 10-6 Sv from 40K and the least
from 2.3 × 10-11 Sv from 232Th. It has been calculated that human beings receive total
6.3 × 10$^{-7} \pm$ 2 × 10-7 Sv radiation dose exposure from soil. Data obtained are acceptable
in comparison with radiation doses attributable to building materials in OECD countries.