Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Progress report and proposal for renewal of loan of a 90/sup 0/ bending magnet for use in the study of trace elements in the environment and disease. [Trace metals environmental transport in vicinity of Cu smelter. Comparison of methods for trace metals analysis in samples of ocean sediment, biota, and particulates]

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:7314738
Comparative studies of concentration of various trace metals in soil, vegetation, and human hair samples collected from the vicinity of a copper smelter were made to obtain an indication of the levels of exposure of the nearby communities to several heavy trace metals (Cu, Zn, As, Cd, Sb, Hg, and Pb) injected into the atmosphere by the copper smelter. Measurements of the baseline levels of V, Cr, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Ba, and Pb in samples of ocean sediment, biota, and suspended particulates collected from promising offshore gas and oil drilling sites in the mid-Atlantic region were performed by both atomic absorption (AA) and proton induced x-ray emission. Using AA as a benchmark technique, the comparability of PIXE and AA data for Cr, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb was examined. It was found that PIXE and AA measurements on sediments gave very comparable results. A report on such comparison is attached.
Research Organization:
College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA (USA)
OSTI ID:
7314738
Report Number(s):
TID-27363
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English