A rapid determination method of (87)Sr/(86)Sr and Pb isotope ((204)Pb, (206)Pb, (207)Pb, and (208)Pb) ratios was applied to determining the geographic origin of grain crops. This new method is more economical in terms of both time and cost compared to conventional methods. We used samples of barley (n = 321), rice (n = 111), and wheat (n = 93) grown in various countries. (87)Sr/(86)Sr versus Sr...

In the deepest section of a large complex cave in the northern Negev desert, Israel, a bi-conical lead object was found logged onto a wooden shaft. Associated material remains and radiocarbon dating of the shaft place the object within the Late Chalcolithic period, at the late 5th millennium BCE. Based on chemical and lead isotope analysis, we show that this unique object was made of almost pur...

Recent developments of the Cascade-Exciton Model (CEM) of nuclear reactions are briefly described. These changes are motivated by new data on isotope production measured recently in “reverse kinematics” at GSI for interactions of Pb and U at 1 GeV/nucleon and Au at 800 MeV/nucleon with liquid H. This study leads us to CEM2k, which is a new version of the CEM code that is still under development...

Lead concentrations and isotopic ratios were measured along two well-dated sediment cores from two distant lakes: Anterne (2100 m a.s.l.) and Le Bourget (270 m a.s.l.), submitted to low and high direct human impact and covering the last 250 and 600 years, respectively. The measurement of lead in old sediment samples (>3000 BP) permits, in using mixing-models, the determination of lead concentra...

In evaluating the accuracy and reliability of blood lead (PbB) measurements with the Environmental Science Associates Model 3010A Trace Metal Analyzer, intralaboratory comparison demonstrated that use of the operating conditions recommended by the manufacturer resulted in consistently underestimated PbB concentrations less than 400 micrograms/L and overestimated PbB values greater than 400 micr...

Stable lead isotopes and lead concentrations were measured in the enamel and dentine of permanent (n = 37) and deciduous teeth (n = 14) from 47 European immigrants to Australia to determine whether lead exchange occurs in teeth and how it relates to lead exchange in bone. Enamel exhibits no exchange of its European-origin lead with lead from the Australian environment. In contrast, dentine lead...

The advent of magnetic sector inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) allows rapid, accurate, and precise measurement of lead isotopes in environmental and biological samples at a lower cost than traditional methods. This may increase the feasibility of including lead isotope measurements as a routine tool to identify household sources of lead exposure to children. Here, we presen...

[1] Trends and sources of lead (Pb) aerosol pollution in the North Pacific rim of North America from 1850 to 2001 are investigated using a high-resolution (subannual to annual) ice core record recovered from Eclipse Icefield (3017 masl; St. Elias Mountains, Canada). Beginning in the early 1940s, increasing Pb concentration at Eclipse Icefield occurs coevally with anthropogenic Pb deposition in ...