ELEMENTAL ANALYSIS OF GROUND WATER USING PIXE AND PIGE TECHNIQUES

Abstract

Water is the most important source of minerals for both human beings and animals. But at the same time, water is also a source of disease due to the contamination of various elements. Therefore, knowledge of the elemental content of water is important. In this work, water samples were collected from areas around Chandigarh and Bathinda district, Panjab, India. Proton-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) and proton-induced gamma-ray emission (PIGE) techniques were used for the determination of heavy and light trace elements, respectively, in wide varieties of water samples. A large number of elements, namely F, Na, S, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, As, Pb , and U were detected in the samples and results are discussed.