<p>Mosses and lichens are often used to assess atmospheric deposition of <sup>210</sup>Pb. The most widely used method for determining this isotope is gamma spectrometric analysis. There is often a need to enhance the sensitivity of the method, which can be achieved by pre-concentrating <sup>210</sup>Pb. The simplest method in this case is direct dry ashing according to commonly accepted standardized procedures. However, the question of potential losses of <sup>210</sup>Pb during the combustion of mosses and lichens remains unclear. The main objective of this study is to investigate the effect of the dry ashing procedure on the accuracy of determining <sup>210</sup>Pb concentrations in the studied samples. The conducted experiment showed that ashing samples with low (&lt; 8%) ash content, which includes all mosses and lichens, at a temperature of 450&#xa0;°C leads to significant losses of <sup>210</sup>Pb (up to 40%). For samples with an ash content &gt; 14% (litter), the losses of this isotope do not exceed 3–4%. For both groups, the value of ashing losses has a nearly linear dependence, inversely proportional to the ash content in the studied material. The obtained relationships allowed us to calculate the corrections necessary to account for <sup>210</sup>Pb losses during ashing of both low and high ash materials. The application of several statistical tests demonstrated good convergence and consistency of the results of <sup>210</sup>Pb determination obtained by direct measurement in unashed samples and those calculated through the measured activity of this isotope in ashes, corrected for ashing losses.</p>

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The influence of the dry ashing procedure on the correctness of 210Pb determination in lichens and mosses

  • Mikhail Melgunov,
  • Kseniya Mezina,
  • Aleksandra Lomova

摘要

Mosses and lichens are often used to assess atmospheric deposition of 210Pb. The most widely used method for determining this isotope is gamma spectrometric analysis. There is often a need to enhance the sensitivity of the method, which can be achieved by pre-concentrating 210Pb. The simplest method in this case is direct dry ashing according to commonly accepted standardized procedures. However, the question of potential losses of 210Pb during the combustion of mosses and lichens remains unclear. The main objective of this study is to investigate the effect of the dry ashing procedure on the accuracy of determining 210Pb concentrations in the studied samples. The conducted experiment showed that ashing samples with low (< 8%) ash content, which includes all mosses and lichens, at a temperature of 450 °C leads to significant losses of 210Pb (up to 40%). For samples with an ash content > 14% (litter), the losses of this isotope do not exceed 3–4%. For both groups, the value of ashing losses has a nearly linear dependence, inversely proportional to the ash content in the studied material. The obtained relationships allowed us to calculate the corrections necessary to account for 210Pb losses during ashing of both low and high ash materials. The application of several statistical tests demonstrated good convergence and consistency of the results of 210Pb determination obtained by direct measurement in unashed samples and those calculated through the measured activity of this isotope in ashes, corrected for ashing losses.