The Determination by Neutron Activation Analysis of Selected Elements in Cigarettes

Abstract

Neutron activation analysis was used for the determination of Na, Al, CI, K, Ca, Sc, Mn, Cu, Br, and La in the tobacco, mainstream smoke condensate, paper, and dropped ash of the Kentucky Reference Cigarette (IRI). The procedure requires no sample transfers prior to activation and no radiochemical separations before counting.     

Nondestructive Determination of Mercury in Copper by Thermal Neutron Activation Analysis

Abstract

Thermal neutron activation analysis was applied to the nondestructive determination of parts per billion (p.p.b.) quantities of mercury in high purity, oxygen-free high conductivity (OFHC) copper. The data were treated to a five-point gamma spectrum smoothing to reduce the statistical variations due to the low count rates. Linear regression and a statistical evaluation of the data were also performed. Net photopeak counting rates of approximately 43 counts per minute (c.p.m.), compared to a background of approximately 6 c.p.m., were obtained for six two-gram copper samples containing 38 ± 12 p.p.b. mercury.     

中子活化分析测定油菜叶绿体中的微量元素

１　　引　　　　言微量元素如锰、铁和铜在植物光合作用中起重要作用,其在叶绿体中的含量与赋存状态已被广泛研究,但对叶绿体中其它微量元素的含量及对光合作用的影响研究较少。近年来,大量实验证明稀土元素能提高植物光合作用的能力,但叶绿体中是否含有稀土元素还不清楚。本工作分离并纯化了油菜的叶绿体,用中子活化分析测定了包括８个稀土元素在内的１９种微量元素的含量。２　　实验部分２．１　　仪器与试剂　　ＤＬ－７Ａ冷冻离心机（中国科学院武汉科学仪器厂）,７２１分光光度计（上海精密科学仪器有限公司）,高纯锗探测器及…     

Determination of Trace Molybdenum in Biological Matrices by Neutron Activation Analysis

Based on consecutive extractions using bismuth diethyldithiocarbamate and thallium diethyldithiocarbamate as reagents, molybdenum was selectively and highly enriched from biological matrices, and then subjected to neutron activation analysis. Most of interfering elements, e.g., Na, K, Br, P, Fe, U, etc. were simultaneouly removed and the preconcentrated samples always showed only the r rays from molybdenum after neutron bombardment. Thus, molybdenum in the biological matrices could be accurately determined.     

Determination of Trace Elements in Liquid Fuels by Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis

Abstract

An instrumental neutron activation analysis with Ge(Li) γ -spectrometry and computer-assisted data reduction, has been developed for the determination of more than 20 elements in different liquid fuels. Organo-metallic standard solutions were mixed to obtain suitable standards. Two neutron irradiations and 4 γ-spectrometric measurements are required for each sample. Corrections were taken into account for a few spectrometric and nuclear interferences. The overall standard deviation for nearly all elements is mainly determined by counting statistics. The following elements can be determined : Na, Al, S, Cl, K, Sc, V, Cr, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Br and La whereas the concentration of the following elements are mostly near the limit of detection: Mg, Mo, Sb, Ba, Th and Hg.     

Determination of Trace Elements in Tea and Coffee by Neutron Activation Analysis

Thermal neutron activation analysis, a high-resolution Ge(Li) gamma-ray spectrometer, and an IBM 360/67 digital computer were used to determine the concentration of Na, K, Sc, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Cu, Zn, Se, Br, Rb, Sb, Cs, and Hg in ground coffee and tea. This nondestructive multielement technique requires neither pre- nor postirradiation chemistry and eliminates problems of reagent contamination. The method is simple, precise and sensitive to 15 elements. Interferences from fast neutron (n, p) and (n, α) reactions are small and, if necessary, corrections may be applied easily. This technique can be applied to percolated tea and coffee.     

南极岩石样品中稀土元素的中子活化分析

用仪器中子活化分析技术,测定了南极岩石中8种稀土元素含量,讨论了不同岩石的稀土模式特点。     

The Determination of Co in Plant Materials by Radiochemical Neutron Activation Analysis

The influence of irradiation conditions on the results of Co determination in plant samples by radiochemical neutron activation analysis (RNAA), after the conventional and microwave assisted wet digestion, has been investigated. Nine CRMs of botanical origin were examined. The study has demonstrated that the effectiveness of mineralization depended significantly on the kind of sample and the irradiation conditions. When analyzed CRMs were subjected to long-term irradiation in a high neutron flux, the mineralization using the microwave technique was necessary to obtain the correct results of Co determination in some of the plant samples. It has been proved that microwave digestion in a mixture of HNO₃+H₂O₂+HF should be a standard method of wet ashing, independent on matrix and irradiation conditions.     

Determination of Trace Amount of Mercury in Human Hair by Neutron Activation Analysis

Trace amount of mercury in human hair has been determined by destructive neutron activation analysis. It was found that the contents of mercury in the hair of normal people in Taiwan area is the order of 6 ppm. It is of interest to point out that very little fluctuation is observed in the contents of mercury in human hair regardless of sex and age of the normal people under investigation. On the other hand for those people who are working in the caustic soda manufacturing plant in which mercury is used as cathode in the electrolysis process of saline water, the mercury contents in their hair are definitely much higher (ca. 30 times) than the average values of normal people.     

人体子宫癌活组织中微量元素的中子活化分析

本文利用样品的低温干燥预处理技术和仪器中子活化分析方法,同时测定了人体子宫癌活组织中的29种微量元素,并分别与宫颈炎组织和正常组织比较,初步研究结果表明,子宫癌组织,宫颈炎组织和正常组织中Au,I,Se等微量元素有显著差异。     

Determination of Traces of Uranium and Thorium in Environmental Matrices by Neutron Activation Analysis

Radioactive elements like ²³²Th and ²³⁸U along with their daughter products, form part of all environmental matrices and are getting transferred to living beings by different pathways, leading to a continuous radiation exposure and need to be monitored. This paper presents an analytical methodology, highlighting the need to separate interfering beta- and gamma-emitters from the analytes, when neutron activation analysis is employed for the determination of traces of uranium and thorium in soil and plant materials. The method has been applied to the soil and plant materials from selected regions of India, along with standard reference materials to verify the validity of the proposed separation scheme. The overall reproducibility of the procedure was 2–10%. The concentration values of uranium and thorium so obtained, have been used to calculate transfer factors from soil to various parts of wheat plant.     

Determination of trace amounts of chlorine in hydraulic fluid by Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis

A procedure has been developed for the determination by thermal neutron activation analysis of trace amounts of total chlorine in the Electro-Hydraulic-Control /EHC/ fluid used by the Hadera Power Station in various hydraulic systems. Irradiation for 1 min near the core of a nuclear reactor is followed by high resolution gamma-ray spectrometry using a Ge/Li/ detector. Chlorine amount is quantitatively determined by measuring the gamma-ray photopeaks of the radioactive nuclide³⁸Cl. The system response is linear in the concentration ranges investigated. Chlorine concentration in a fresh hydraulic fluid sample was found to be 17.6±0.5 ppm. The limit of detection, when assaying a 1 cm³ sample of fluid under the present experimental conditions, is 1 g of chlorine and the corresponding concentration is 1 ppm.     

Determination of Silver in Plants by Flameless Atomic Absorption Spectrometry and Neutron Activation Analysis

Abstract

Three analytical techniques suitable for determining silver concentrations in plants are presented and compared. Graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry performed directly on sample digests was the most sensitive and convenient. Neutron activation analysis, measuring ^110mAg gave good reproducibility, but lower sensitivity. A cyclic activation scheme to generate and detect the short-lived isotope ¹¹⁰Ag was useful as a quick reconnaissance technique, but interference from ⁷⁶As reduced its effectiveness.

Data are presented on the silver content of terrestrial plants. Background silver concentrations for lichens and bryophytes collected from Wales, U.K. were <0.07μgg^?1. Samples collected from areas contaminated by derelict metal mines contained between 0.1-1.0μAgg^?1. The aerial portions of vascular species usually contained less silver than bryophytes growing on the same substrate. Fungi are shown to bioconcentrate silver to a greater extent than cadmium, copper or lead.     

Determination of Arsenic and Mercury in Various Environmental Matrices by Chemical Neutron Activation Analysis

Chemical neutron activation analysis was developed for determining trace amounts of arsenic and mercury in a variety of environmental matrices, including water, sediment, rock, plants, animal organs, etc: The adsorption procedure via magnesium oxide as the agent was applied to preconcentrate arsenic from the digested environmental matrices where arsenic in the form of As(V) ion could be highly efficiently adsorbed by hydrous magnesium oxide. On the other hand, the extraction procedure via lead diethyldithiocarbamate as the agent was applied to preconcentrate mercury from the digested environmental matrices where mercury in the form of Hg(II) ion could be highly efficiently extracted into the solution of lead diethyldithiocarbamte in dichloromethane. Both of the preconcentrated materials prepared ultimately in the solid states, i.e., arsenic in magnesium oxide and mercury in lead diethyldithiocarbamte were taken to be neutron irradiated. The γ spectra of the preconcentrated samples irradiated generally showed clear peaks of the product radionuclides from arsenic or from mercury by the different separation procedures. The possible interfering elements such as Na, Br, etc., were prominently minimized in respect of most of the preconcentrated samples. The reliability and accuracy of the proposed analytical methods for detecting arsenic and mercury can be confirmed by the assay of commercial standard reference materials including sediment, rock, plants, and animal organs.     

Determination of Elements in Japanese Standard Soil Materials by Means of Insturmental Neutron Activation Analysis

Instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA), and inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) were applied to the determination of major elements and rare earth elements in Japanese Standard Soil Materials (NDG-1 to -8). Eight major elements, Al, Fe, Ti, Ca, Mg, Mn, K, and Na were determined by INAA. A comparison of the data for rare earth elements obtained by INAA and ICP-MS shows that the data of the contents determined by the two different analytical methods are in fairly good agreement with each other.     

Substoichiometric determination of silver by Neutron Activation Analysis

A rapid and selective method has been developed for the determination of Ag in biological samples and mineral ores by thermal neutron activation analysis employing substoichiometric extraction with 1,2,3-benzotriazole /1,2,3-BT/ into chloroform. The time required for the radiochemical purification and counting of two samples was 1 h. 4.84 g Ag can be determined with an accuracy of 7.44% and a precision of 3.57%.     

Determination of Essential Elements in Ayurvedic Medicinal Leaves by k0 Standardized Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis

Elemental concentrations of a few medicinal leaves are determined by instrumental neutron activation analysis using the single comparator (k ₀) method. Data obtained for neem leaves, collected from two different places, have been used to see the effect of soil condition. The applicability of the method particularly for the simultaneous determination of Ca, Mg, V and Al in biological matrices has been evaluated in terms of the detection limit, precision and accuracy. The method was validated by analysing the NIST Standard Reference Material (SRM-1571) and it was found that the elemental concentrations measured in SRM-1571 are within ±10% of the reported values.     

An Internal-Standard Method for Determination of Trace Impurities in Semiconductor Grade Silicon by Neutron Activation Analysis

An internal-standard method^1–4) has been applied for the determination of La, Sb, Au, Cr and Ag in silicon single-crystal by neutron activation analysis using cobalt as an internal-standard element. No chemical separation is required in this case and the precision obtained with the present method is satisfactory.     

Characterization of solar grade silicon by Neutron Activation Analysis

An analytical method using neutron activation was developed in order to orientate and check different silicon elaboration processes either as solid ingots or ribbon shaped. This method without chemical separation after irradiation implies the use of a high efficiency semiconductor detector. A particular attention was paid to different causes of error and to the detection limits really obtained. These limits range from 10⁹ to 10¹⁵ at.cm^–3 for about 30 elements systematically locked for after a 72-h irradiation.     

Multielement Analysis of Iliac Crest Bone by Neutron Activation

The k ₁-method for standardization in INAA specifically tackles the problem of the interpretation of gamma-ray spectra as obtained with highly efficient detectors, as opposed to the k ₀-method. In this paper, results obtained from three NIST reference materials, measured after neutron activation with a gold-lined well-type detector, are presented. It is concluded that the accuracy of the method is better than 1%.