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The recent methodological developments and particularly the recent applications of nuclear analytical techniques (mainly PIXE and INAA) for measuring minor and trace elements in various types of environmental samples are reviewed. The sample types covered range from atmospheric aerosols over miscellaneous air topics (e.g., emissions, wet and dry deposition) to various solid environmental materials and samples from the aqueous environment. A fairly comprehensive overview is given of the research on atmospheric aerosols. For the other sample types, the trends in the research are indicated and selected examples of applications are presented. It is shown that the nuclear analytical techniques are very valuable for the multielement analysis of solid environmental samples. Furthermore, PIXE is particularly suitable for analyzing atmospheric aerosol samples.

The organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in the intertidal surface sediments from the south of Bathing Beach to Duliujianhe Estuary in Tianjin were investigated to evaluate their distribution characteristics, potential pollution and risks. A total of 12 surface sediment samples were collected. The concentration of total OCPs in surface sediments varied from 7.26 to 78.42 ng/g. The level of total HCHs (a-,β-,γ-,δ-HCH) and DDTs (p,p'-DDD, p,p'-DDE, p,p'-DDT, o,p'-DDD) in surface sediments were 0.00-123.09 ng/g and 3.54-44.41 ng/g, respectively. The dominant pollution of OCPs in surface sediments were γ-HCH and δ-HCH among HCHs, and p,p'-DDE among DDTs. Distribution characteristics of HCHs and DDTs were different, indicating that their sources of contamination were different. Although some new sources were likely to have occurred in the region, HCHs and DDTs were higher than normal as compared to those found in the sediments of domestic and foreign rivers. This indicates that the previous excessive usage of technical OCPs was the main reason for the residues of HCHs and DDTs in this study. Therefore, the use of HCHs, DDTs and heptachlor should be controlled strictly to protect the environment in intertidal zone.