I. Kuleff

Neutron activation analysis of metal ions in Langmuir—Blodgett multilayers of arachidic acid

Abstract A combination of the Langmuir-Blodgett technique and the neutron activation method of analysis is used to determine the stoichiometry of the interaction between fatty acid monolayers and metal ions dissolved in the subsolution. Arachidic acid and Cd 2+ and Ba 2+ are considered. The results show the specificity of the reaction RCOOHMe 2+ . The experimental data are used to calculate the stability constants of arachidic acid bivalent metal soaps according to the method proposed by Matsubara et al.

Chemical fingerprinting of plants

The chemical fingerprinting of a plant demands the determination of a large number of elements at background level but also in polluted regions and in relation to other species. The most important stages of the development of plant fingerprints are mentioned in this paper and a short survey of the state of the art is presented. Examples on fingerprinting of lichens, mosses, Taraxacum officinale and Populus nigra‘Italica’ are presented.

Bromine, copper, manganese and lead content of the leaves of Taraxacum officinale (dandelion)

Neutron activation analysis and atomic absorption spectrometry have been used to determine the Br, Cu, Mn and Pb content of leaves of Taraxacum officinale (dandelion). The elemental content of the leaves correlated with the extent of anthropogenic pollution of the region where the plant developed. The dependence of the element concentrations on the distance from the source has been evaluated. A positive linear correlation was observed between the Cu and Pb, Cu and Sb, Pb and Cd, and Pb and Zn content of the leaves.

INAA and flame AAS of various vegetable reference materials

SummaryINAA and flame AAS have been used for the analysis of a large number of vegetable reference materials. Out of all determined elements (28 by INAA and 11 by AAS) nine are common for both methods (Ca, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Na, Zn) and for these the possibilities of the two methods have been compared.

Comparison of the ability of several vascular plants to reflect environmental pollution

Abstract The response of Taraxacum officinale, Populus nigra, Trifolium repens, Rumex acetosella, Lolium multiflorum, and Poa annua to heavy metal pollution has been comparatively investigated. The enrichment factor is proposed to be used for quantitative assessment of the accumulation in biomonitors.

Possibilities of ED-XRF with radionuclide sources for analysis of plants

A comparative evaluation of the applicability of different radionuclide sources for the determination of toxic elements in plants by ED-XRF is presented.238Pu or109Cd are suggested as most suitable single excitation sources in ED-XRF for monitoring investigations. More elements are determined with a combination of55F/109Cd(238Pu)/241Am. The results obtained by radionuclide ED-XRF analysis of different plants show that the method permits the reliable determination of Br, Ca, Fe, K, Mn, Rb, Sr and Zn in plant bioindicators. For toxic elements like As, Cd, Cu Cr, Hg, Ni, Se and Pb the detection limits of the method are not low enough.

Investigations on the time-dependant variations in metal concentration in the leaves of Populus nigra ‘Italica’

Abstract Changes in heavy metal concentrations in standardized leaf samples of Populus nigra ‘Italica’ were investigated over a period of 9 years. At the sampling sites with low indirect anthropogenic influence no significant changes were established. In heavily polluted sampling sites the concentrations in the leaves reflect the activities of the emitting sources

Comparative evaluation of the possibilities of INAA, ED-XRF, ICP-AES and AAS in the analysis of plants

The usefulness of INAA, radionuclide ED-XRF, ICP-AES and AAS are comparatively evaluated for the determination of nutrients, essential and trace elements in various plant matrices. The comparison is performed by analysis of the following reference materials: NIST-SRM-1573, NIST-SRM-1575, NIES-1, NIES-3, NIES-6, IAEA-V-10 and Bowens kale. The detection limits, accuracy and precision of the methods are discussed and a combination of INAA and GFAAS is recommended for analysis of plants for monitoring purposes.

On the possibilities of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for analysis of archaeological bones for reconstruction of paleodiet.

The possibilities of inductively coupled plasma atomic mass spectrometry for determination of elemental composition of archaeological bones for reconstruction of paleodiet are discussed. The interferences of different polyatomic ions on the determination of Fe, Cu, Mg, Mn, Zn, and Zr are investigated and evaluated. Thus, a method for the determination of Al, As, Ba, Mg, Pb, Sr, V, Zn, and Zr is proposed and is validated by analysis of IAEA-SRM-H-5 (animal bone). The applicability of the proposed procedure is demonstrated analyzing real archaeological bone samples dated to 4th century b.c. and the results are compared with the data obtained by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry.

ANALYSIS OF ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL GLASSES BY INAA

A scheme for instrumental neutron activation analysis of ancient and medieval glasses is proposed. The combination of three irradiations (short time, pile and epithermal) enables the determination of 34 elements. The accuracy of the method is evaluated by analyzing two glass standard reference materials. Results from the analysis of three glasses from different times are presented.