THE ANALYSIS OF HUMAN NAILS FOR 24 ELEMENTS VIA K(0) AND CYCLIC NEUTRON-ACTIVATION ANALYSIS

The possibility of using human nails as a monitor for the exposure fro m occupation is presented. The concentrations of 24 elements in the hu man toenails from 129 construction workers were determined by cyclic i nstrumental neutron activation analysis (CINAA) and k(0)-standardizati on method. For CINAA, samples were irradiated and counted for three cy cles with one day decay between cycles, and then the spectra were summ ed. The detection limits of fluoride, scandium, and silver were improv ed by a factor of two over conventional single irradiation method when CINAA was applied. Twenty two elements were determined using the k, m ethod. The accuracy and precision of the k(0) method are discussed in this paper.