Determination of trace elements in cigarette tobacco with the k0-based NAA method using Es-Salam research reactor

The k0-standardization method of NAA is known as one of the most remarkable progress of NAA with its many advantages. Recently, our laboratory is highly involved in various areas of application of k0-NAA. This paper focuses on the application of the k0-NAA method in Nutritional and Health-Related Environmental field. Tobacco holds a leading position among different commodities of human consumption. The adverse health effects of toxic and trace elements in tobacco smoke on smokers and non-smokers are a special concern. In the present study, the concentration of 24 trace elements in cigarette tobacco of five different brands of Algerian and American cigarettes have been determined by k0-based INAA method. The results were compared with those obtained for samples from Iranian, Turkish, Brazilian and Mexican cigarettes tobacco. To evaluate the accurate of the results the SRM IAEA-140/TM was executed. The analytical results showed that the relative error of most of the elements was less than 10%. (author)