Published 1975 | Version v1
Journal article

Determination of gold and arsenic in Indian tobacco leaves

  • 1. Saha Inst. of Nuclear Physics, Calcutta (India). Nuclear Chemistry Divison

Description

Two varieties of Indian Tobacco leaves have been analysed for gold and arsenic by neutron activation (76As, 198Au). Nicotiana rustica variety from North Bengal was found to contain 3.7x10-1ppm of gold and 4.0x10-3ppm of arsenic and the nicotiana tabaccum variety from Andhra Pradesh contains 1.26x10-1ppm of gold and 5.1x10-3ppm of arsenic, respectively. Unlike those in other countries Indian tobacco leaves seem to be enriched in the gold content and depleted in the arsenic content. The soil of North Bengal is richer in gold than the soil of Andhra Pradesh which requires further investigation, and the amount of arsenic in both soils is physiologically insignificant. Irradiation of leaf samples was done in a CIRUS reactor at a neutron flux of 1013n cm-2s-1 for seven days. (F.G.)

Additional details

Publishing Information

Journal Title
Radiochem. Radioanal. Lett.
Journal Volume
23
Journal Issue
1
Series
Radiochem. Radioanal. Lett.
Journal Page Range
43-48

Optional Information

Notes
1 fig.; 5 refs.; 1 table.