The concentration levels of As, Au, Hg,
and Sb
in the fleshy tissues of the giant African land snails (Archachatina Marginata) and periwinkles (Littorina littorea) have been measured by neutron activation analysis (NAA) . Post-irradiation separation of 76As,
198Au,
197Hg,
and 122Sb
as bromides after wet-ashing the samples in a concentrated H
2SO
4-HBr
medium was employed. The concentration ranges of 0.015-2.48, 0.037-0.091, 0.018-0.072, and <0.01- 0.25μg/g wet weight were determined for As, Au, Hg,
and Sb,
respectively. The periwinkles showed higher concentrations of As, Au,
and Hg
than the snails. The concentrations of 16 elements, Al, Br, Ca, Cl, Co, Eu, Fe, K, La, Mn, S, Sc, Si, Sm, Sr,
and Zn
also have been determined in the calcareous shells of these molluscs.
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