Neutron activation analysis with pre- and post-irradiation chemical separation for the value assignments of Al, V, and Ni in the new bovine liver SRM 1577C

Instrumental neutron activation analysis as carried out at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is inadequate for determining Al, Ni, and V at the levels found in the newly prepared Standard Reference Material® (SRM) 1577c Bovine Liver. To overcome shortcomings in the value assignment, the authors initiated a cooperative approach using NAA with previously established chemical separation procedures and with significantly different neutron energy spectra to determine Al and V with pre-irradiation separation of the elements at NIST, and V and Ni with post-irradiation separation at the Nuclear Physics Institute Řež. The determinations were confirmed with the analyses of several SRMs. The work supported the certification of mass fraction values for V and Ni in SRM 1577c.