Heavy metals assessment in Oum Er Rbia bassin using WD-XRF and ICP-AES

International audienceThe analysis of water, suspended particulate matter (SPM) and sediment collected from Oum er Rbia Moroccan basin for the content of six elements has been performed utilizing ICP-AES and WD-XRF methods. Sediment have been analyzed by WD-XRF; Water and MPS by ICP-AES. The detection limits are sufficient for most of the elements to be determined. Results were assessed for the accuracy by the analysis of a multi-elemental standards. The results for most of the elements obtained were accurate to about 2-15%. The objective of the analysis were to determine the geochemical areas on this bassin, to explain the mechanisms of sediment transport and nevertheless, to assess the pollution of the bassin by heavy metals generated by human activities. This work interests only the last aspect. It has done one 30 samples of water and SPM, and about 80 sediments. Samples were collected along the river, between its source in meddle Atlas and the Atlantic ocean at Azemour city. The results obtained on the basin were normalized to the international norms

Heavy metals analysis of water, soils and sediments along the Oued Boufekrane river (central Morocco) using WD-XRF and ICP-AES

Oued Boufekrane is a river that takes its source about thirty kilometers southern the city of Meknes central Morocco) The water of this river is used for the irrigation of agricultural soils and it also covers the needs of water for part of rural population. When passing through Meknes city, it is loaded by waste waters of urban and industrial origin and particularly from artisanal tanneries and potteries. The purpose of this study is to measure the heavy metal concentrations in soil, sediment and water samples along the Oued Boufekrane river by means of WD-XRF and ICP-AES. The heavy metals content measured revealed to be below the critical levels defined as risk levels except for Cu in water and sediment which content, in some sites, is close to these risk levels; for Cr in sediments, which content increase from up- to downstream of Meknes city and for Pb in soils, which concentrations revealed to be high in the vicinity of road axes

Étude comparative des techniques d'analyse par fluorescence X à dispersion d'énergie (ED-XRF) et à dispersion de longueur d'onde (WD-XRF), et par spectrométrie d'émission atomique à source plasma couplée par induction (ICP-AES)

Dans ce travail, nous présentons une étude comparative des techniques d'analyse par fluorescence X à dispersion d'énergie (ED-XRF) et à dispersion de longueur d'onde (WD-XRF), et par spectrométrie d'émission atomique à source plasma couplée par induction (ICP-AES). Les résultats de la calibration des spectromètres à dispersion d'énergie, à excitation par sources radioactives ($^{55}$Fe, $^{109}$Cd et $^{241}$Am) et à excitation secondaire (cible secondaire Mo et Cu) du Centre National pour l'Energie, les Sciences et les Techniques Nucléaires (CNESTEN, Rabat, Maroc) sur des échantillons étalons de références de l'Agence International de l'Energie Atomique (AIEA) et du Community Bureau of Référence (BCR) ont été comparés aux résultats d'analyse des mêmes échantillons étalons par la spectrométrie X à dispersion de longueur d'onde (WD-XRF) et par spectrométrie d'émission atomique à source plasma couplé par induction (ICP-AES) au département GENERIC du centre SPIN à l'Ecole des Mines de Saint-Etienne (France). Les trois techniques d'analyse utilisées donnent des résultats comparables pour le dosage des éléments majeurs, alors que pour les traces on note des déviations importantes à cause des effets de matrice qui sont difficiles à corriger dans le cas de la fluorescence X

Boot camp–style teacher workshops to incorporate hands‐on activities in agricultural sciences

Food security is one of the most pressing concerns of our times. Despite the vast opportunities, there is a shortage of skilled professionals in the food, agriculture, and plant sciences. Although most programs focused on addressing this concern have targeted students, we have often overlooked another critical group—the teachers. To address this issue, we recruited high school teachers from the Pharr–San Juan–Alamo Independent School District (PSJA-ISD) in South Texas to participate in a workshop at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) and fostered their agricultural knowledge through boot camp–style intensive training by faculty members in food, agriculture, and plant sciences. Through this project, we seek to indirectly educate nearly 2,000 high school students and use these lesson plans as models for undergraduate education. Results from the teacher and student assistant evaluations show that our workshop structure and design is effective in serving the objectives and instigating interest among teachers who plan to incorporate these into their lesson plans. Student assistants involved in the project also describe it as an opportunity to improve their teaching and public speaking skills. Taken together, we suggest that in addition to planning student-centered activities, the teacher-centered activities should also take the center stage in our fight for better food security