Environmental and ecological studies using proton activation analysis

Multielement analyses of environmental samples have been carried out using proton activation analysis. It has been shown that this technique is suitable for both the analysis of aerosol particulates collected on polystyrene filters and for the analysis of the roots of Eucalyptus trees. Aerosol particulates from around the eastern coast of Australia were found to contain S, Ca, Ti, Cr, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, Se, Sr, Y, Zr, Ru, Pt and Hg ranging in concentration from <0.003 to over 3.0 μg per cubic metre of air. A comparison between the ashed roots of healthy and diseased Eucalyptus trees from the Brisbane Ranges in Victoria showed that the concentrations of Fe and Ti in the diseased tree were only 30% and 59% respectively of that in the healthy tree.