LASER FLUOROMETRIC-DETERMINATION OF URANIUM IN ENVIRONMENTAL-SAMPLES FROM NILE-DELTA AND ADJACENT REGIONS

Total uranium content was determined in soil and plant samples obtaine d from various areas in the Nile Delta. Samples taken from east and we st of the delta, Suez canal cities and from the Alexandria region were analyzed using laser fluorimetry (LF). Uranium was extracted from dig ested samples with methyl-isobutyl ketone and measured using a laser f luorimeter. The radium content of the same soil samples was determined using gamma spectroscopy. The uranium content of plant samples was de termined using LF, since this technique has a detection limit lower th an that of GS. Uranium content in the samples varied between 0.6-4.4 m u g/g for soil and 0.032-0.17 mu g/g for plant tissue.