Abstract: For trace analyses of environmental waters, spark-source mass-spectrometry has been combined with a preconcentration procedure involving chelation of the dissolved trace elements with oxine and subsequent adsorption of the oxinates and naturally occurring organic and colloidal metal species onto activated carbon. The activated carbon is filtered off and ashed at low temperature. The residue is dissolved, an internal standard and pure graphite are added and, after drying, the electrodes are prepared. The photographically recorded mass spectrum is evaluated by a suitable computer routine. The error of the procedure is around 30%. While this preconcentration and analysis procedure is capable of measuring about 40 elements quantitatively, in practice 1025 trace elements are determined simultaneously above the 0.1-μg/l. detection limit, as is illustrated by analyses of drinking water, surface and ground water samples. Although a sophisticated technique, SSMS can be considered for regular panoramic survey analyses.

Abstract: Certified reference materials (NIST 1645, BCR 143, IAEA 7, BCR 141, NIESCRM02, and IAEA 375) were used for determining the performance of a secondary target energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) spectrometer, Epsilon 5 (PANalytical, Almelo, the Netherlands). For the evaluation of the EDXRF spectra with polarized-beam high-energy excitation, the WinAxil software package has been applied. The results showed that Epsilon 5, EDXRF spectrometry is favorable for the determination of elemental concentrations in geological samples, but the sample preparation has the largest influence on the precision. However, they presented good agreement with certified values for most of the elements.

Abstract: Individual aerosol particles from the remote marine atmosphere were investigated by scanning electron microscopy and electron microprobe analysis. A large fraction of the silicate mineral component of the aerosol was found to be internally mixed with sea-salt aerosol particles. This observation explains the unexpected similarity in the size distributions of silicates and sea salt that has been observed in remote marine aerosols. Reentrainment of dust particles previously deposited onto the sea surface and collision between aerosol particles can be excluded as possible source mechanisms for these internally mixed aerosols. The internal mixing could be produced by processes within clouds, including droplet coalescence. Cloud processes may also be responsible for the observed enrichment of excess (nonsea-salt) sulfate on sea-salt particles.

Abstract: Nearly 200 terms commonly used in radioanalytical chemistry are unambiguously defined. The list is partially based on an earlier IUPAC-glossary (Pure Appl. Chem. 54 (1982) 1533-1554), but some modifications have been made, terms related to nuclear physics and technology have not been reconsidered and numerous new entries from the realm of radiometric analysis, radioimmunoassay and related techniques have been included.

Abstract: Erythrocyte selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase activity was measured in psoriatic Danes, before and after their four-week balneological therapy at the Ein-Bokek International Psoriasis Treatment Center, on the Dead-Sea shore in Israel. The drinking water in Ein-Bokek was found to be rich in selenium, a trace element with anticarcinogenic properties and of great importance in human nutrition and health. The most reliable biological parameter for increase in selenium bioavailability is the erythrocytes' glutathione-peroxidase activity. As psoriasis is a proliferative skin disease, the activity of this enzyme was assayed in 35 psoriatic Danes and in 25 long-term local hotel workers, as well as in 34 volunteers drinking low-selenium water. The glutathione peroxidase activity in the psoriatic patients increased significantly during their four-week stay in Ein-Bokek. Erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase activity in the hotel workers was 50% higher than that in the healthy volunteers consuming low-selenium water. A possible role of selenium in psoriasis is suggested.

Abstract: Size-fractionated aerosol samples, collected over the Atlantic Ocean, were analyzed for up to 20 elements by PIXE. Using a sailboat as sampling platform, duplicate samples were taken for two-day periods by means of battery operated 6-stage cascade impactors, positioned about 8 m above the sea surface. In the PIXE analysis of the fine particle stages (stages 3 to 5) a 5 times smaller beam size was used than for stages 1 and 2. This led to significant improvement in the detection limits for the former stages. The results from the duplicate impactor samples were normally in good agreement, indicating that the combined uncertainty of sampling and PIXE analysis was of the order of 20%. The precision of the PIXE analysis alone was investigated by rebombarding some samples six months after the first analysis. The trends with time of the fine particle sulfur and the coarse particle iron concentrations are discussed in some detail.