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U.S. Department of Energy
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Application of synchrotron radiation to trace-element analysis in occupational health research

Conference ·
OSTI ID:5776536

X-ray fluorescence techniques have a number of features that make them attractive for application to biomedical samples, including: they are nondestructive; they are absolute techniques (as is neutron activation analysis) wherein cross sections and absorption coefficients are known and standards are set for geometry determinations; the chemical form of the trace element will not affect the analysis as it could in techniques using ion sources; only small amounts of sample are required, and these can be prepared with a minimum of handling; fine spatial resolution and mapping of elemental distributions in a sample is possible; and sensitivity is a continuous and slowly varying function of atomic number. Synchrotron radiation x-ray sources have been developed and, because of their properties, their use can improve the sensitivity for trace element analysis by two to three orders of magnitude. Also, synchrotron radiation will make possible an x-ray microprobe with resolution in the micrometer range. The National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS), a dedicated synchrotron radiation source recently built at Brookhaven National Laboratory, will have a facility for trace element analysis by x-ray fluorescence and will be available to all interested users.

Research Organization:
Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC02-76CH00016
OSTI ID:
5776536
Report Number(s):
BNL-33667; CONF-8306128-1; ON: DE84000538
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English