| NUKLEONIKA 2012, 57(4):585-589
TRACE ANALYSIS OF INDONESIAN VOLCANIC ASH USING THERMAL
AND EPITHERMAL NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS
Bonnie Canion1, Camille Jacques2, Sheldon Landsberger1, Agus Taftazani3
1 Nuclear Engineering Teaching Laboratory, The University of Texas at Austin,
R-9000 Austin, Texas 78712, USA
2 Ecole Nationale Superieure d’Ingenieurs de Caen, Caen Cedex, France
3 National Nuclear Energy Agency of Indonesia
(BATAN), Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia
There is continued great interest in determining the trace element and heavy metal content of volcanic ash for a variety of reasons. The motivation stems from the desire to understand the geochemistry of volcanic ash in imbedded geological formations, the impact on seawater, and the possible release of toxic elements into the environment that may impact livestock grazing and water systems. Ash from volcanic plumes can go as high 8–18 km thus affecting climate and air traffic. We have employed Compton suppression neutron activation analysis (NAA) with thermal and epithermal neutrons to determine trace elements in volcanic ash from Indonesian eruption of Mount Merapi in October 2010. We found a wide range of elements, including several rare earth elements.
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