Evaluation of boron for the epithermal neutron activation analysis of short-lived radionuclides in geological and biological matrices

The value of boron, in addition to cadmium, as a thermal neutron filter for the epithermal neutron activation of short-lived radionuclides is shown to depend on sample matrix. Activation ratios of fifty nuclides are measured and the improvement in sensitivity is calculated for geological and biological matrices. The addition of boron, in the case of geological samples where the major interference is Al, improved detection for only F, Y, Sn, Ba, Er, W and Pt. In biological samples where Na is a problem the detection limits for F, Br, Rb, Y, Mo, Pd, Sn, Sb, I, Ba, Nd, Sm, Gd, Er, Hf, W, Re, Pt, Au, Th and U are all theoretically improved.