Evaluation of metal and radionuclide data from neutron activation and acid-digestion-based spectrometry analyses of background soils: Significance in environmental restoration

摘要

In this project, a total of 120 soil samples were collected from uncontaminated areas on and near the Oak Ridge Reservation. The objective of this presentation is to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of neutron activation analysis (NAA) compared with those of acid-digestion-based spectrometry (ADS) methods; the advantages and disadvantages were evaluated from Al, Sb, As, Cr, Co, Fe, Mg, Mn, Hg, K, Ag, Th-232, U-235, U-238, V, and Zn data. The ADS methods used for this project were inductively coupled plasma (ICP), ICP-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), and alpha spectrometry. The scatter plots showed that the NAA results for As, Co, Fe, Mn, (sup 232)Th, and (sup 238)U are reasonably correlated with the results from the other analytical methods.