Determination of cadmium, copper and mercury in environmental matrices by destructive neutron activation analysis

Following neutron irradiation, a radiochemical separation of trace copper, cadmium and mercury from both biological and geological matrices is proposed. The procedure is mainly based on the use of two inorganic adsorbers and anion exchange resin and allows a very effective decontamination from the interfering activities. The minimum detectable amounts for copper, cadmium and mercury are 50, 20 and 5 ng, respectively. (author)