Trace elements in tissues from Vietnamese animals

The concentrations of the trace elements S, Cl, K, Ca, Fe, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Br, Rb, Sr and Pb in tissues of a number of animals collected in different provinces in Vietnam were determined using energy-dispersive x-ray fluorescence spectrometry. This set of data was measured in order to establish a background set of data for Vietnam. Overall good agreement with elemental concentrations reported for similar animals and with concentrations in other parts of the world was found. In order to render comparisons possible for specimens sampled in other countries and between polluted and unpolluted areas, it turned out to be clearly advantageous to determine the element concentrations in the different tissues. Compared with measurements of the total body, the risk of averaging the elemental concentration is being eliminated or at least greatly reduced. Copyright (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.