Environmental monitoring of trace elements in bark of Scots pine by thick-target PIXE

Bark samples were taken from Scots pines (Pinus sylvestris L.) from a polluted area near a metal plant and from a relatively non-polluted site. Thick-target particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) was used for the analyses after different types of prepreparation of the samples. The bark samples were analysed directly by radially scanning from inner to outer bark in order to study the variability of elemental concentrations in different layers. Some clear differences were found in the chemical composition of the inner and outer bark, The lowest detection limits for the analyses of heavy metal ions were obtained by combining dry ashing at 550 degreesC with the PIXE method. More than 100 times higher concentrations were found for the heavy metal ions Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, As and Pb in the bark samples from a polluted area in comparison to samples from a non-polluted area. The work demonstrated that external-beam thick-target PIXE is a sensitive and reliable method for quantitative determination of heavy metals in tree bark samples. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.