DESTRUCTIVE AND NONDESTRUCTIVE ANALYSIS OF SOME ELEMENTS IN TISSUE AND ENVIRONMENTAL-SAMPLES BY THERMAL-NEUTRON ACTIVATION-ANALYSIS TECHNIQUE

A rapid and selective method has been developed and applied for determ ining elements present in tissue and environmental samples by both des tructive and nondestructive activation analysis. Nondestructive activa tion analysis involves the irradiation of the sample and standard of t he elements such as Mn, Na and K with thermal neutrons from Cf-252 neu tron source followed by radioassay of the (n,r) products on a HPGe det ector coupled to a PC-based MCA. Elements are determined by irradiatin g the samples in a thermal neutron flux of the CIRUS reactor and radio chemically separating the isotopes of interest using substoichiometric extraction and precipitation technique. The statistical evaluation of the method with respect to accuracy and precision of the method and i ts sensitivity are discussed.