Development of the neutron activation technique for mercury determination and its application for search of new fields of hydrocarbon raw materials

The increased contents of mercury were observed around of hydrocarbonic raw material fields in the last years. But an inverse question is open - whether these contents can serve as an evidence for presence of such fields. To give an answer, a method of neutron-activation analysis for mercury determination in water and soil samples has been developed. A way of chemical mercury fixation in samples has been developed to avoid mercury volatilization during sampling and neutron irradiation. (authors)