Analysis of low levels of rare earths by radiochemical neutron activation analysis

A procedure for the radiochemical neutron-activation analysis for the rare earth elements (REE) involves the separation of the REE as a group by rapid ion-exchange methods and determination of yields by reactivation or by energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) spectrometry. The U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) standard rocks, BCR-1 and AGV-1, were analyzed to determine the precision and accuracy of the method. We found that the precision was ±5–10% on the basis of replicate analysis and that, in general the accuracy was within ±5% of accepted values for most REE. Data for USGS standard rocks BIR-1 (Icelandic basalt) and DNC-1 (North Carolina diabase) are also presented.