Date

13-16 September 2010

Venue

Beijing, China

Host Organizations

China Atomic Energy Authority(CAEA), China Institute of Atomic Energy(CIAE)
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (MEXT)

Participating countries

Australia, Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, The Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam

The 2010 FNCA workshop on NAA project was jointly held with the workshop on RRT. During the opening session, Prof. M. Ebihara, a project leader of Japan, presented a overview talk entitled "Scope of 2010 workshop on NAA". The session was closed with the introduction of participants.

The workshop consists of the following sessions:

I. Progress reports by participating countries for individual sub-projects
In this session, all participating countries reported their progress report for each sub-project. After hearing such reports, a comprehensive discussion (described as general discussion in the following report) was done under the chairmanship of a subproject leader for each subproject. These discussions considered objectives, goals, potential for cooperation, work-sharing and road-mapping. In each case there was a focus on potential end-users.

I-1 Geochemical monitoring and mineral exploration

Bangladesh : Dr. Syed Mohammod Hossain
In order to implement the sub-project 1 (Geochemical Analysis) Bangladesh has done the following work: i) participated in the Inter-comparison Exercise through the analysis of three stream sediments; ii) for minerals exploration sixty three sediments samples have collected from 21 locations with 1 km interval at 3 depths for covering 21 km coast of Cox's Bazar (from Laboni Beach to Inani Beach). The analysis is in progress.

China: Dr. Ni Bangfa
The stream sediment samples were analysed using a hybrid version of k₀-NAA and relative NAA, both developed in the laboratory. The results using the two approaches were in good agreement. The REE distribution of coastal wetlands surface soil from the Yellow River Delta has been determined using NAA. Comparisons have been made between surface soil concentrations and the concentrations found in different vegetation materials.

Indonesia : Mr. Sutisna
Implementation of k₀-INAA for a Geochemical Mapping Study of Panjang Island in the provence of Banten has been done. Samples have been collected from Panjang Island with exact position determined by GPS. The fried dried technique has been used for sample preparation. The target prepared as dry weight. Some elements mapping was determined by the NAA technique but data analysis is in progress. Thorium concentrations were found to vary from 1 - 8.5 mg/kg. Cerium was found with concentration from 2-105 mg/kg. Iron (Fe) is abundant, with concentrations greater than 3 per cent.

Japan : Prof. Tsuyoshi Tanaka
Several areas of progress in geochemical mapping sub-project in Japan are remarkable :

1)	The sampling has expanded towards the east of the research area where mafic rocks are exposed. We got geochemical data related to mafic rocks.
2)	Our results are compared with "Geochemical Map of Sea and Land of Japan" published by Geological Survey of Japan in 2010. They used ICP-MS and ICP-AES. Hf and heavy REE such as Yb and Lu, abundances of his map shows 1/3 - 1/5 values of ours which is analyzed by INAA. The low values are probably due to incomplete acid digestion.
3)	A public lecture of geochemical mapping was held in Geochemical Soc Japan Meeting and was very well attended.

The three stream sediment samples for the laboratory inter-comparison were analysed in the laboratory of Professor Tanaka and Professor Mitsuru Ebihara.

Malaysia: Dr. Wee Boon Siong
Communication has been established between the Malaysian Nuclear Agency and the Mineral and Geoscience Department. Discussions have investigated possible collaboration in the areas of providing NAA and other analytical services, research, training in NAA and other analytical methods and consultancies. Approaches include visits to the Mineral and Geoscience Department, holding a workshop on NAA application in geochemical studies and the establishment of a service agreement.

General discussion
In round table discussion it was agreed that significant benefits have been achieved through the activities of the sub-project. The stream sediment inter-comparison has led to an improvement in the quality of measurements in a number of laboratories. Sharing the data has enabled participants to investigate the causes for discrepancies or variations from the assigned values.
A tangible result will be the publication of a number of journal papers. This has a number of benefits including raising of the profile of the FNCA in the research community, providing a demonstration of the proficiency of the participating laboratories and contributing to the professional expertise of the practitioners.
Another tangible result is that the participants now how three stream sediment samples that have been very well characterised and can be used as reference materials within our laboratories. Additional material can be purchased from the Japanese Geological Society.
In Indonesia participation in the sub-project has initiated a geochemical mapping of an island in order to establish base-line values for various elements, prior to a change in land use. The success of this work will lead to an extension of the approach to other areas in the country.
Malaysia described how the sub-project has been the driver for establishing communications with the national Mineral and Geoscience Department. A likely consequence will be to raise the profile of NAA within the country and inform key decision-makers of the advantages that NAA can offer in geochemical analysis. The meeting considered that the experience of Malaysia in establishing linkages with end-users may act as a template for initiatives in other countries. It was noted that the model allows for projects to scale up or scale down, according to the availability of funding.
In Australia, participation in the project has led to a very productive relationship with the National Metrology Institute. Projects related to geochemical analysis have been established with two universities and a mining company.
Within Japan, the geochemical mapping sub-project has led to major engagement in the education sector. Many students over a number of years have participated in sample collection and analysis, producing a cohort of professionals who have direct experience of the application and benefit of NAA. A benefit of carrying out such projects within the university environment is that they are less dependent on the availability of external funding. Other countries expressed the opinion tht, although significant laboratory resources were required to participate in the inter-comparison measurements, the positive benefits certainly justified the investment.
There was a clear sense that the geochemical mapping sub-project has reinforced the need for NAA practitioners to engage with the end-users, to inform the end-users of the potential applications and benefits of NAA and to work jointly to identify suitable collaborative project. There are already very positive signs that these linkages are being formed in a number of the participating countries. This approach will lead to demand-driven projects that genuinely meet the needs of the end-users.

I-2 Monitoring of food contaminants

Prof. B.-F. Ni (China)
Thirty four trace elements from 15 brands of market Chinese tea leaves have been determined by NAA techniques, which include Ag, Al, As, Au, Ba, Br, Ca, Ce, Cl, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Eu, Fe, Hf, K, La, Lu, Mg, Mn, Na, Rb, Sb, Sc, Sm, Sr, Ta, Tb, Th, V, W, Yb and Zn. The trace elements of filtrate from three kinds of Ferment degree tea leaves infused have been determined. The results indicated that: i) Tea contains rich trace elements. The concentrations vary with origin and picking time. ii) The dissolving rate is element dependent. iii) Tea is a rich source of Mn comparing with other plant food. iv) Drinking tea can complement some essential trace elements, but far less than the total amount needed by human body.

Dr. S. Purwanto (Indonesia)
Monitoring contaminant with determination of toxic and essensial elements in tea leaf by NAA method has been done. Five kinds of tea product (green tea, black tea, rossella tea, vanila tea and jasmine tea) were collected from the market in Banten provence. Analysis of the samples show macronutrients as K (10-25 mg/kg), Ca (7-21 mg/kg), Mg(2-4 mg/kg) ; micronutrients as Mn (0.2-0.8 mg/kg), Fe(0.17-0.7mg/kg) for dry tea samples. Cr was found in dry tea samples at around 1.8-3 microgram/kg. All of the element concentration for leached tea samples were decreased.

Mr. J.-H. Moon (Korea)
Three kinds of tea samples such as green, black and barley tea, were purchased from market and prepared for NAA. In addition, infused tea samples were also prepared to evaluate extraction level of elements in the tea samples. 15 elements in green and barley tea samples and 22 elements in black tea sample were determined by INAA, respectively. K has the highest contents among the determined elements and Cl is the highest extraction ratio up to 90%. Toxic metals like As, Cd, Hg could not be detected from the analyzed samples.

Prof. M. Ebihara (Japan)
Six kinds of domestic green tea leave samples were collected by purchasing from markets and processed following the protocol proposed by Mr. Moon. Both intact and infusion samples were analyzed by prompt gamma-ray analysis (PGA). Boron, Cl, K and Mn could be reliably determined for both types of samples. It was found that contents of the four elements are within a factor of two, regardless of the difference of producing area, processing and price. About 90 and 75% of Cl and K were leached after 6 min infusion, respectively.

Dr. B. S. Wee (Malaysia)
We have analyzed 10 tea samples by local tea companies from Cameron Highland and Sabah. The use of NAA is able to determine 19 elements and validated using standard reference materials. Trace elements in tea leaves do not show significant difference before and after infusion except for K. Malaysia tea leaves show concentration ranges similar to those from Africa and Asia. The elements Ba, Ca, Cs and Mg are slightly higher in Malaysian tea leaves than those of Africa and Asia. In future, we plan to continue to collect other local tea samples and to compare their trace element contents.

Ms. A. Busamongkol (Thailand)
Ten types of commercially herbal teas in Thailand namely: Lipton tea, Safflower tea, Mulberry tea, Green tea, Ginkgo leaves tea, Oolong tea, Mulberry green tea with chrysanthemum, Mulberry green tea with safflower and gacina, Mulberry green tea with jasmine flower & Thai tea were purchased from a supermarket in Bangkok, Thailand. Mineral analysis for Al, Ba, Br, Ca, Ce, Cl, Cr, Fe, K, La, Mg, Mn, Na, Rb, Sb, Sc & Zn in dry teas and infusion teas were analyzed by instrumental neutron activation analysis. The results shown that the best average extraction rate was Cl(87%) and the extraction rates of K was over 79% for all herbal tea infusion.

Mr. C. D. Vu (Vietnam)
Content of the nutrient elements (Ca, Fe, Mg, Mn, Se and Zn) and heavy-toxic metals (As, Hg, Cd and Pb) in 54 tea leave samples collected at three main tea-grown areas in Lamdong: Caudat, Dilinh and Baoloc were analyzed by AAS, RNAA and INAA at Dalat Research Reactor. The results show that most of these concentrations are in range of published data. Amount of heavy - toxic metal is below the limited standard, except for Pb.

General discussion
Representatives from seven countries participating in the sub-project of food analysis such as China, Indonesia, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, have presented the analytical results of food samples. Most of participating countries have prepared intact and infused tea samples following the protocol proposed by Mr. Moon. For one thing, we discussed concentration level of the toxic elements such as As, Cd, Cr, Hg in the tea samples which had been selected as a common target material. In addition, we have evaluated the extraction ratios for each element by infusion and it is revealed that K and Cl have a higher extraction ratio than the others. Secondly, we discussed publishing of scientific journal by cooking of our analytical results of tea samples. It was agreed that we will present our work at the MTAA13 which will be be held in USA, next year. In order to do that, we made a deadline in sending modified or compensated final data to Mr Moon, which is the end of November. Mr. Moon will collect all the data and cook them to make full paper to publish scientific journal, JRNC.

I-3. NAA of marine sediment samples for environmental monitoring

Bangladesh: Dr. S. M. Hossain
According to the work plan under the FNCA-RRU/NAA project, Bangladesh has performed assessment of environmental contamination due to shipbreaking activities in the coastal belt of 20 km in Shitakunda, Chittagong using NAA technique. The analysis of 15 soil samples collected from five shipbreaking yards revealed that the investigated shipbreaking yards are highly contaminated with As, Sb and Cr. This is very preliminary observation. Intensive study in systematic way is required to draw the final conclusion.

Indonesia: Dr. S. Purwanto
Pollutan mapping on industrial area of Suryalaya and Labuan Power Steam Plant-Banten Provence have been done. Sample (soil, water and plant) obtained from area around PLTU Suryalaya and Labuan-Banten Provence. Samples have been collected from 16 sampling point around ring 1 - ring 4 with each distance 5km-20km. The total soil and plant samples were 32 and 16, respectively. The fried dried technique has been used. The target prepared as dry weight. After analysis with NAA technique, the toxic element such kind of Sb was obtained with variety concentration 0.5-0.8 mg/kg from area around Suryalaya Power Steam. In the case of Labuan-coastal, Cr element was obtained with variety concentration from 9.3-56.5 mg/kg.

Japan: Prof. M. Matsuo
Firstly, features of environmental samples were summarized and the usefulness of NAA method in these samples was emphasized. Core sampling method, which was recommended as a common sampling method, was adopted in order to clarify the past environmental changes. The following research works performed were presented in this session: i) Restoration of environment of coastal seabed by using sediments under Hypoxia; ii) Application of environmental samples by using Multiple Prompt Gamma-ray Analysis (MPGA).

The Philippines: Ms. P. Pabroa
Marine sediment core samples from two sampling sites - the Manila Bay and the Sorsogon Bay - have been collected to determine the trace and toxic element inputs in these two bodies of water and correlate these inputs with time using data on ²¹⁰Pb dating. Studies on these sites have been conducted mainly to determine the history of pollutant inputs in the bays and assess its impact in the ecosystem (in part, its relationship to harmful algal bloom). All samples collected have been pelletized and ready for analysis by EDXRF. Optimization of analytical conditions/setting-up of calibration curves, however, is still on-going. Some samples have been analyzed using previous protocol, but calculations have not been finished. Correlation plots and source apportionment studies will be attempted with the elemental data generated in correlation with ²¹⁰Pb dating.

Malaysia: Dr. W. B. Siong
Environment monitoring using marine sediments is essential for understanding the level of toxic element pollution in marine environment. Since 2003, we have collected many marine sediment samples around the Malaysian coastlines and this project is supported by the government. For this year, we report the results of marine sediment sample collected from Talang-Satang National Park and Bako National Park. The aim of this study is to assess the level of pollution in sediments in these national parks is by using enrichment factors (EF) and geoaccumulation index (I_geo). The results show that EF and I_geo of As in Bako National Park is higher than those of Talang-Satang National Park. The high As maybe due to anthropogenic sources from the river discharges from the mainland. For elements Cr and Sb, both national parks show no significant contamination as indicated by their EFs and I_geo values.

Vietnam: Mr. C. D. Vu
The INAA methods were applied to analyze the concentration of elements in sediment samples collected at Dinhan, the biggest port in the West South of Vietnam. The results show that content of Zn, Co, Cr, Fe is 1.5 to 10 times higher than that in the sample picked up at Nhatrang, Binhthuan and Vungtau. This might due to the pollution from transportation activities at this area.

General Discussion
The achievement of each participating countries was discussed. The following points came out through the discussion:

i)	Each of the countries has remarkable contribution to implement the sub-project 3, even though the project needs to be continued in order to draw effective conclusion.
ii)	The possibility and necessity of core sampling was discussed as it gives the historical information of contamination. The marine environment in some countries is not significantly contaminant. In this case it is not necessary to analyze core sample. As a result large sampling areas can be covered through the analysis of surface sediment.
iii)	The following six countries showed their interest to work on sub-project 3 (if it's extended): Bangladesh, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, The Philippines and Vietnam. Among them, Bangladesh, Japan, Malaysia, The Philippines and Vietnam expressed their interest to work on marine sediment. On the other hand, Indonesia expressed their interest to work on river sediment and surface soil due to their own situation.

II. Evaluation of 3rd phase of the project for three years.
Each country submitted an evaluation sheet prior to the workshop. During the workshop, each country explained the content of the evaluation sheet. In general, the three subprojects have been satisfactorily performed. Although another half a year is remaining in 2010, we may conclude that the NAA project has been tangibly performed.

III. Discussion on the future plan
Basically, we agreed that the three sub-projects we adopted for the third phase would be continued for another three years form 2011 to 2013. The followings are summary of our discussion on individual projects for the fourth phase.

III-1. NAA of geochemical samples for geochemical mapping and mineral exploration
In round-table discussion it was agreed that a new phase of the geochemical mapping sub-project would be necessary in order to reap the rewards of the successful first steps that have been achieved in the current phase. Most importantly, the momentum in engaging with end-users should accelerate. Through these networks, projects that take full advantage of the particular strengths of NAA will be formulated and implemented.
It was agreed that the scope of the sub-project should be broadened to include applications of geochemical mapping techniques in field such as the environment. The sub-project should include only terrestrial systems, leaving marine systems to another sub-project. The title may be shortened to 'Geochemical mapping'.
An important component of the new phase would be to communicate the successes of the sub-project with a broad audience. Under the banner of the FNCA, brochures could be produced to promote individual laboratories and to inform analytical chemists of the strengths of NAA, a booklet of case-studies could be produced and opportunities should be sought to have 'good news' stories written by journalists in the print media.
All six existing participating countries expressed an intention to join the next phase of the geochemical mapping sub-project: Australia, Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Japan and Malaysia. The Philippines may also consider joining.
The Australian national representative agreed to continue in the role of sub-project leader if the next phase is approved.

III-2. NAA of food samples for contamination-monitoring
There was a discussion to continuation of food analysis as a sub-project in the next phase. It was clearly agreed that food analysis by NAA is an important subject and this sub-project should be kept coninued. Subsequently, an attempt was made to choose common target samples which have an impact to public concerns as well as research objects with significance. Many delegates of participating countries in the food sub-project would be likely to extend tea or rice analysis which has been executed in this phase. However, we do not reach to final decision because of a lack of time for discussion and the necessity for a prudent attitude. Consequently, we agreed that final decision of target samples will be made through the opinion exchange by an E-mail. As for the target material, we may look forwards to hearing any opinion and suggestion at the coordinators meeting held at the end of this fiscal year, when the decision for the continuation of the NAA project will be officially made.

III-3. NAA of marine sediment samples for environmental monitoring
As described in the general discussion of this subproject in the first section, the participating countries agreed to continue the activity of this subproject for the next three years if the continuation is approved. A main reason for wishing of the continuation of this subproject is that the first term form 2008 to 2010 for this subproject was mainly amined for recognition of the present status of the NAA application to the marine sediment samples and discussion for the effective experimental procedure for monitoring for the environmental contamination level. Participating countries unanimously agrees that at least another three years are needed to have the project tangibly performed. Especially, core sampling is to be done in the next term because it is very effective to obtain information of chronological variation of the contamination level at the marine environment. For such countries where contamination at marine environment is not serious at present, sampling in rather large surface area can be alternatively done. Currently, the following six countries show their intensions to work on the marine sample subproject if it is extended: Bangladesh, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, The Philippines and Vietnam. The representative from Japan is willing to work as a subproject leader if the subproject will be continued for at least another three years.