Simultaneous Determination of Mercury, Bromine, Arsenic and Cadmium in Biological Materials by Neutron Activation Analysis

A method for the simultaneous determination of mercury, bromine, arsenic, and cadmium in biological samples is described. Following neutron activation and a simple distillation of volatile compounds, mercury and bromine were determined by gamma spectrometry. Arsenic and cadmium were further separated by cation exchange separation and determined similarly. Determination limits for mercury, bromine, arsenic, and cadmium were 0.001 mu g, 0.003 mu g, 0.001 mu g, and 0.02 mu g, respectively. The method was applied to the determination of mercury, bromine, arsenic, and cadmium in rice and fish samples. Analysis of a standard kale powder yielded the values of 0.046 mu g/g for mercury, 24.5 mu g/g for bromine, 0.17 mu g/g for arsenic, and 0.50 mu g/g for cadmium. (auth)