Abstract
This paper compares the performance and limitations of two analytical methods for samples from the environment: Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) and Inductively Coupled Plasma with Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). A Brazilian river, the Das Velhas, was chosen as the test-site. This river runs through a Fe, Mn and Au mining area. The two methods were initially tested on three international reference materials: SLRS-3 (riverine water, Research Council Canada), GS-N (granite, ANRT, France) and SOIL-7 (soil, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria). Actual river samples (water and sediments) were analysed next. The INAA and ICP-MS results were generally in good agreement. However, ICP-MS analysis occasionally suffered from random flask contamination (e.g. Zn). The concentrations obtained by ICP-MS for certain elements (e.g. Zr) were lower than the certified values and results from INAA, probably because the dissolution of their natural forms (oxides) was not complete. For INAA, only one irradiation run was used. Some elements with short half-life radioisotopes (e.g. Mn, Mg or V) and usually analysable by NAA were not detected.
The results obtained for the Das Velhas river showed a strong relationship between mining activity and pollutant concentrations. Increased concentrations of certain metals corresponded to passage of the river through the industrial mining area.
The use of both INAA and ICP-MS enabled accurate results for water and sediment samples to be obtained for approximately 50 elements. For water analysis, ICP-MS was clearly the most convenient method, as INAA was handicapped by the effect of radiolysis which prevented irradiation of liquid samples. For sediment analysis, sample preparation time for ICP-MS was time consuming. INAA avoided these problems and could be used as a reference method. Routinely, a particular method was selected for each element.
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Pinte, G., Veado, M.A.R., Oliveira, A.H. et al. Comparison of Neutron Activation Analysis and ICP-MS used for river water pollution control. Hydrobiologia 373, 61–73 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1017004329179
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1017004329179