APPLICATION OF INAA AND XRFA IN A COMPARATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL-STUDY

Environmental monitoring requires reliable and effective analytical te chniques for widely different concentration ranges. Two such methods ( INAA and XRFA) were applied in a comparative environmental study on ai r dust filters and grass. The samples were collected during one year a t two locations (near Bucharest/Romania and near Stuttgart/Germany) wi th different levels of air pollution. Seventeen environmentally releva nt elements (As, Ba, Br, Ca, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mn, Ni, Pb, S, Sb, Se, V, Zn) were determined. The aim was to test the suitability of INAA a nd XRFA methods for different elements in these kinds of samples at re alistical pollution levels. The results were statistically compared fo r 13 elements, which were determined by both analytical techniques. Th ey were also used to characterized the air pollution level and its var iation at the two locations, and to compare them. Generally, concentra tions in air of the elements studied are higher in Bucharest than in S tuttgart.