A brief introduction to neutron activation analysis in China―history,major achievements,and future perspectives

The history,the major achievements in both methodology and applications,the current trends and future perspectives of neutron activation analysis (NAA) in China are briefly described.

Neutron activation analysis of ceramic tiles and its component and radon exhalation rate

The concentrations of 20 trace elements in several ceramics tiles and ceramic composites used in Egypt were elementally analyzed by neutron activation analysis(NAA) technique. The samples and standard were irradiated with reactor for 4 h(in the Second Research Egyptian Reactor(Et-RR-2)) with thermal neutron flux 5.9×10 13 n/(cm 2·s).The gamma-ray spectra obtained were measured for several times by means of the hyper pure germanium detection system(HPGe). Also a solid state nuclear track detector(SSNTD) CR-39, was used to measure the emanation rate of radon for these samples. The radium concentrations were found to vary from 0.39—3.59 ppm and the emanation rates were found to vary from (0.728—5.688) × 10 -4 kg/(m 2· s).The elemental analysis of the ceramic tiles and ceramic composites have a great importance in assigning the physical properties and in turn the quality of the material.

The affect of industrial activities on zinc in alluvial Egyptian soil determined using neutron activation analysis

Thirty two surface (0—20 cm) soil samples were collected from different locations in Egypt representing non polluted, moderately and highly polluted soils. The aim of this study was to evaluate total Zn content in alluvial soils of Nile Delta in Egypt by using the delayed neutron activation analysis technique (DNAA), in the irradiation facilities of the first Egyptian research reactor (ET RR 1). The gamma ray spectra were recorded with a hyper pure germanium detection system. The well resolved gamma ray peak at 1116.0 keV was efficiently used for 65 Zn content determination. Zn content in non polluted soil samples ranged between 74.1 and 103.8 ppm with an average of 98.5±5.1 ppm. Zn content in moderately polluted soils ranged between 136.0 and 232.5 ppm with an average of 180.1±32.6 ppm. The highest Zn levels ranging from 240.0 and 733.0 ppm with an average of 410.3±54.4 ppm, were observed in soil samples collected from, either highly polluted agricultural soils exposed to prolonged irrigation with industrial wastewater or surface soil samples from industrial sites.

An application of a simple computer program for neutron activation analysis

A simple computer program is designed for estimation of elemental concentration values in complex samples by neutron activation analysis technique. The program is applied for an Egyptian cement sample which irradiated at the Egyptian Research Reactor 1(ET RR 1). The data obtained is compared with the reported values. The time consumed for such calculations has a remarkable reduction in comparison with the routine work.

Elemental analysis of some Egyptian ores and industrial iron samples by neutron activation analysis

Elemental analysis of iron ore samples and first industrial iron production prepared by the Egyptian Iron and Steel Company of Helwan near Cairo were determined by instrumental neutron activation analysis technique. Five samples from each kind were irradiated for a 48 hours at a thermal neutron flux of 4×10 12 n/(cm 2.s) in the first Egyptian research reactor ET RR 1. Also the Pneumatic irradiation Rabbit system (PIRS) attached to the reactor in Inshass, was used to measure the elements of short life time. The gamma ray spectra were recorded by means of the hyper pure germanium detection system. The concentration percentage values of major, minor and trace elements are presented. The long and short lived isotopes were considered. A comparative study and a discussion on the elemental concentration values are given.

Neutron activation method in the analysis of environmental objects

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Elemental Analysis of Air Suspended Particles in Rasht City Using Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis

Instrumental neutron activation analysis （INAA） has turned out to be particularly useful in the analysis of suspended particles. This work describes the INAA characterization of air particulate matter collected in Rasht city, Iran. The particulate matter was collected in two sampling sites for elemental analysis in the period of winter-summer 2009. Samples have been transferred to the environmental laboratory of radiation applications research school. Neutron exposures were performed in Tehran Research Reactor, and measurements were carried out using HPGe detectors coupled to gamma ray spectrometer. In these filter samples, the elements, AI, As, Ba, Br, Ca, CI, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, K, La, Mg, Mn, Na, Sb, Sc, Ti, V and Zn were determined using different irradiation and counting protocols. Results show that mean concentration of most air-pollutants in Rasht are lower than those measured in other cities in Iran （Tehran, Shiraz, Isfahan）. Collected data were also compared with reported results for other cities in the world.

Overview of Industrial Materials Detection Based on Prompt Gamma Neutron Activation Analysis Technology

Prompt gamma neutron activation analysis (PGNAA) is a non-destructive online measurement nuclear analysis method. With its unique advantages, it has been widely used in online analysis of industrial materials such as coal, cement, and minerals in recent years. However, there are many kinds of literature on PGNAA in the field of industrial materials detection, and there are still a few concluding articles. To this end, based on the principle of PGNAA online analysis, the status quo and development of the real-time online detection of industrial material components in the field are reviewed and discussed by consulting a large number of domestic and foreign PGNAA related literature and data, to facilitate the reference of relevant scientific researchers.

Determination of the Bromine, Manganese and Antimony in Nicotiana tabacum Solanaceae by Using the Neutron Activation Analysis Technique

Tobacco addiction has been mentioned as a leading cause of preventable illnesses and premature disability. Smoking is the main cause of lung cancer and one of the factors that most contribute to the occurrence of heart diseases, among others. The herbaceous species Nicotiana tabacum is a plant of the solanaceae family used for tobacco production. Some authors have conducted research about heavy metals and the toxicity of tobacco. It is, frequently, found in low concentrations in the ground, and superficial and underground waters, even though they do not have environmental anthropogenic contributions. However, with the increase of industrial activities and mining together with the agrochemical use of contaminated organic and inorganic fertilizers, an alteration of the geochemical cycle occurs. As a consequence, the natural flow of these materials increases and is released into the biosphere, where they are often accumulated in the superior layer of the ground, accessible to the roots of the plants. During planting and plant development, fertilizers and insecticides, including organochlorines and organophosphates, are used;consequently, the smoke from cigarette smoking presents various toxic substances, such as bromine (Br), manganese (Mn) and antimony (Sb), elements studied in this work. The procedures for the preparation of the samples were carried out in our laboratories and submitted to irradiation with thermal neutrons at Nuclear and Energy Research Institute (IPEN/CNEN-SP), in the Atomic Energy Institute IEA-R1 research reactor. The irradiated material was, then, analyzed by gamma spectrometry, using a high purity germanium detector (HPGe).

Accumulation of heavy metals in two crop seeds due to soil contamination as determined by neutron activation analysis techniques

Samples of two crop seeds (corn and sesame) grown on different contaminated soil sources were collected and prepared for neutron activation analysis. Soil contamination sources were organic waste compost applied to soil amendments namely, sewage sludge(Bs) and municipal solid waste (MSW) at 4%, 6% and 8% respectively. The non destructive NAA technique was used to determine some trace elements accumulation in plant seeds. Results revealed that increasing rate of tested organic waste resulted in dramatic increase in tested heavy metals levels in seeds(i.e., Fe, Zn, Co, Cr, Sc and Hg). Sesame seeds showed higher affinity to accumulate trace elements than corn grains in most tested elements. Moreover, MSW addition enhanced the accumulation of tested metals in seeds more than Bs compost.

Determination of neutron capture cross sections of ^(232)That 14.1 MeV and 14.8 MeV using the neutron activation method

The ^232Th（n,γ）^233Th neutron capture reaction cross sections were measured at average neutron energies of 14.1 MeV and 14.8 MeV using the activation method.The neutron flux was determined using the monitor reaction^27Al（n,α）^24Na.The induced gamma-ray activities were measured using a low background gamma ray spectrometer equipped with a high resolution HPGe detector.The experimentally determined cross sections were compared with the data in the literature,and the evaluated data of ENDF/B-Ⅶ.1,JENDL-4.0u＋,and CENDL-3.1.The excitation functions of the ^232Th（n,γ）^233Th reaction were also calculated theoretically using the TALYS1.6 computer code.

Application of neutron activation analysis in geochemistry and cosmochemistry

Generalized the use of neutron activation analysis(NAA)in the investigations of unique processes occurring in early stages of formations and evolution of bodies in solar system Out of them the formation of chondrules,emergence of ultra refractory inclusions in carbonaceous chondrites,formation of metallic and silicate phases of iron and stone meteorites,and formation of iron meteorites of different chemical groups Changes in regolite and lunar rock contents,differentiation in the upper mantle matter, identification of earthly meteoritic craters,transportation of cosmic(meteoritic)materials on to the Earth, investigations of unique events like Tunguska fall of the year 1908 and also ore formation studies and processes taking place on geochemical barrier type river-sea,ocean-atmosphere and so on Prospectives of NAA are pointed out

Combined application of neutron activation analysis using IECF device and neural network for prediction of cement elements

Purpose Gamma spectrum of a cement sample is not straightforward to analyze as a result of peak overlapping produced by Compton effect of gamma rays radiated from activated elements in the neutron activation process and also because of the change into the neutron energy spectrum in the target sample during activation.Methods Artificial neural network(ANN)is an excellent solution for complex and nonlinear systems.Consequently,the use of ANN for quantitative analysis of major cement elements including Ca,Si,Al,and Fe would be very advantageous.Iranian inertial electrostatic confinement fusion device is a fast,monoenergetic and steady neutron generator.It was simulated as a high-energy neutron source for performing neutron activation analysis.In the present study,a library of 29 members of delayed gamma-ray spectra of knowing cement samples were generated via MCNPX version 2.7.Specific photo-peaks related to Ca,Si,Al and Fe obtained from these spectra were used as inputs for ANN(21 of them for training and 8 for testing).Then,using MLP architecture,an ANN model has been presented to model the system to predict the percentages of the elements in cement.The ANN model is optimized to have only a hidden layer with five neurons.Results The comparison between modeling data and results of proposed MLP network shows that there is a good consistency between them.The MAE of training set for Ca,Si and Fe outputs were 0.0351,0.0656 and 0.0660,respectively,and the MAE of testing set for mentioned outputs were 0.0997,0.3046 and 0.8699,respectively.Conclusion Overall,it can be concluded that the defined dispensable errors show that this modeling is a good one as a prediction tool for the mentioned purpose.

An emergency decision support system for the marine pollution

The paper introduces the research progress in an emergency decision support system for marine pollution （EDSS） in China seas and elaborates on the possible role of the Neutron Activation Analysis （NAA） method therein. To deal with the increasingly grave situation of offshore pollution, the EDSS for China seas has been researching and developing. Based on the prediction and analysis of the ocean three-dimensional current field, this system makes an inference on the possible path of diffusion and influencing area of marine pollutants and possible location of pollution source, and in combination with the environmentally sensitive information related to the technical integration of GIS, it puts forward the decision, making support for minimizing the hazard caused by pollutants. This system has been operationalized and running for many years on the Bohai and Huanghai seas＇ Marine Pollutants Prediction and Early-Warning, and it has achieved successful experience for many times in the emergencies of China＇s coastal pollution accidents. At present, the environmental guarantee system directed against heavy metals and radioactive pollutants is in the experimental stage. As the NAA method is especially applicable to the detection of part of heavy metals and radioactive substances, it is of very important practical value for the new system to realize the monitoring, prediction and early-warning of ocean heavy metals and radioactive pollutants.

Optimization of PGNAA device and algorithm for testing basicity index of sinter mixture

Sinter is the main raw material in the blast furnace iron-making process,and basicity(CaO/SiO2)is an important quality index of sinter.Prompt gamma neutron activation analysis is a multi-elemental online detection technology that has been successfully applied in cement,coal,etc.Compared with cement as a raw material,sinter exhibits poor moderation ability and a large neutron absorption cross section.Therefore,cement detection devices are not suitable for sinter mixture detection.In this study,a prompt gamma neutron activation analysis equipment used for testing cement was re-optimized to render it suitable for measuring a sinter mixture.Using Monte Carlo simulation,the comprehensive detection efficiency of the detection device improved by 71.52%.Because of the gamma-ray self-shielding effect of the sinter mixture,the detection errors of CaO and SiO2 are significant.By applying the gamma-ray self-shielding correction algorithm,the detection accuracies improved,and their linear correlation coefficients R2 exceeded 0.99.Furthermore,by applying an improved analyzer to a sintering plant,the first-grade product rate of the factory increased by 4.64%.

STUDY ON OCCURENCE FORM OF PLATINUM IN XINJIE Cu－Pt DEPOSIT BY NAA AND SCANNING PROTON MICROPROBE

A combination of NAA and micro-PIXE was used to study concentrations and distributions of platinum group elements (PGE) in ores from Xinjie Cu-Pt deposit.The NAA results of the bulk indicate that the ores belong to the enriched Pt-Pd type.The element concentration maps of scanning micro-PIXE for the ores show that the occurence form of Pt is independent arsenide minerals. No PGE were detected in chalcopyrite of Xinjie Cu-Pt deposit. These information are economically beneficial to the mineral smelting process.

Dispersal and Fate of Dredged Materials Disposed of in the Changjiang Estuary Determined by Use of An in Situ Rare Earth Element Tracer

To investigate the dispersal pattern and the fate of dredged materials disposed at a pre-selected disposal site, a field tracer experiment was conducted in the North Passage of the Changjiang Estuary during the 2005 flood season. Three tons of dredged materials were mixed with 2.792 kg of sodium hexachloroiridate （IV） hexahydrate （SHH）, which contained the rare earth element tracer iridum （Ir）. Sampling was conducted at pre-selected sections of the estuary on the second, third and fourth day after the release of dredged materials. All samples were evaluated by use of neutron activation analysis. The majority of the dredged material was dispersed nearly parallel to the navigation channel and deposited between the channel and the south dike. Only a small quantity of dredged materials entered or crossed the navigation channel, and the back silting ratio in the navigation channel was about 5%. The dredged materials also dispersed southeasterly beyond two dike heads.

TOTAL AND METHYL MERCURY LEVELS IN HUMAN SCALP HAIRS

The contents of total and methyl mercury in scalp hair samples of 1179 fishermenliving at a typical Hg-polluted region in Northeast China and 27 lying-in womenand their new born babies in Beijing have been determined by illstrumental neutronactivation analysis, gas chromatography (electron coupling) and other techniqlles.Only 18 of all fishermen have the Hg contents above 5 ig/g, which indicates that theHg pollution there has been substantially alleviated. The longitudinal Hg patternsof the lying-in women show a gradually lowering tendency during pregnant period.Further, the Hg contents of the new-born babies are generally above or close to those oftheir mothers, confirming the mechanism that the methyl Hg, an organic species of Hgwith high toxicity, is readily able to penetrate the placental barrier and accumulatedin fetus. Thus, the mercury poison hajs occurred at the early stage of pregnancy.

DETERMINATION OF IMPURITY ELEMENTS IN ALUMINIUM

Twenty five impurity elements in aluminium applied as reactor material are determined. Titanium and nickel are determined with epithermal neutron activation analysis (NAA), magnesium and silicon by inductance coupling plasma emission spectra (ICP), other elements by thermal NAA. The fission coefficient of uraniumis given by an experiment, the interferences of uranium to Ce, Nd, Mo, Zr, La, Sin are subtracted. The detection limits of these methods to all of impurity elements in aluminium are calculated.

NAA OF SOME ANCIENT INDIAN COINS

The radioactivity induced in the coins from Satvahanas,Ahmadshah Bahamani,Gujrat Sultan,Nizamshahi and Marathas after(n,γ) reactions for the elemeats of interest is measured on multichannel analyzer coupled to high purity germanium detector and percentage of these elements is determined by comparator method of NAA.All these coins are found to be copper based with the presence of As,Sb,In,An,Sn and Mn.