TRACE-ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF SOME SHAVING POWDERS COMMONLY MARKETED IN NIGERIA USING INSTRUMENTAL NEUTRON-ACTIVATION ANALYSIS

Instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) technique has been emp loyed via kg approximation method to determine elemental composition o f five shaving powders commonly marketed in Nigeria. Fe displayed the highest concentrations in the range 1000-2000 mu g.g(-1). Na and Zn co ncentrations were established in the range 200-400 mu g.g(-1). Heavy e lements like Ga, La, Cr, Co, Ag, Ce and Nd concentrations were noted i n the lower range of 1-10 mu g.g(-1) Br, As, Sb, Sm, Eu, W, Cs, Tb, Yb , Hf, Ta, Th and U concentrations were established in even lower trace s in the <1 mu g.g(-1) range. Results obtained for a certified referen ce material, CANMET BL-1 and CERT (in house) Kaolin standard compared favourably with the literature values thus establishing the results pr esented for the shaving powders.