title: Neutron activation analysis for Dy, Hf, Rb, Sc and Se in some Ghanaian cereals and vegetables using short-lived nuclides and Compton suppression spectrometry.
abstract: A pseudo-cyclic instrumental neutron activation analysis (PCINAA) method has been developed to determine selected elements in various types of cereal and vegetable from Ghana using relatively short-lived nuclides (t1/2<80 s) and the Compton suppression counting. The samples were irradiated for 10 s at the Dalhousie University SLOWPOKE-2 research reactor facility (DUSR) and allowed to decay for 20 s, and counted for 40 s. The process is repeated every 50 s for 4 cycles to quantify Dy, Hf, Rb, Sc and Se through 165mDy, 179Hf, 86mRb, 46mSc, and 77mSe. The detection limits were generally of the order of 1.0 ng g(-1) except for Rb which is about 1 microg g(-1). Both precision and accuracy of the method were found to be good.
authors.affiliation: SLOWPOKE-2 Facility, Trace Analysis Research Centre, Department of Chemistry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, B3H 4J3.
authors.forename: B J B
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Nyarko
authors.forename: E H K
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Akaho
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Fletcher
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chatt
mesh_terms: D002523:Edible Grain / Q000737:chemistry*; D008670:Metals / Q000032:analysis*; D009501:Neutron Activation Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D013057:Spectrum Analysis / Q000379:methods; D014675:Vegetables / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D008670:Metals