POLÍTICA NUCLEAR
Hne waters which tend to diffuse into the aquifiers in certain areas
in condítions of drought and at high water pumping rates from
certaín weHs.
3.
AGRICULTURE
The use of radioisolOpes in local agriculture has been smalL I
know of only one study presentIy underway. In many countries
there is a fa tal disease of tbe coconut palm and a few other palms
which we caH "Iethal yellowing". In this disease, the leaves of the
palm gradually go yellow, almost an autumnal shade and the boughs
eventuaHy faH off, leaving dead stalks. The economic loss to J a–
maica has been Iarge.
No cure has been found, tbe dísease índeed is by no means un–
derstood. The evidence now points to an air-borne vector, an insect
of some kind in all Iikelihood and experiments are in progress now
to discov,er just which insects feed on coconuts.
This is being done by feeding ¡solOpes into the tree
(c.s.P.
are
lhe preferred ones) and examil1ing insects for the relevant radio–
activity. Up to tbe present time dífficulties in the distribution of
isotope in the tree and certain counting problems wítb the inseets
have not been eompletely overcome.
4.
MINING
The bauxite ore mined in Jamaica is high in alumina and low in
silica.
The analysis of bauxite for aluminium is important not only to
the manufacturer ,as would be obvious, but also to the government
of Jamaica which collects a tax based on bauxite exports. Che–
mical analysis of bauxite is a you know a time consuming a deman–
ding process. Analysis by X ray methods flourescence and diffraction
i5
being carried out but this requires considerable skill and sample
preparation. Some matrix efeccts have also been observed.
Our interest in nuclear work led us to consider the application
of isotope neutron activation analysis to the determinatíon of alu·
minium in Jamaican bauxite. We llave been using a Metrimpex
MTA-I527 unIt which uses a 7 curie 241Am-Be source with a half
