Analysis of antimony around the abandoned Tsugu mine in Aichi Prefecture by neutron activation analysis

At Tsugu mine in Aichi Prefecture, antimony was mined and smelted until 1956. The amounts of antimony present in the soil of the abandoned mine were measured to enable us to detect any traces of the operation of the mine and to measure the level of environmental contamination with antimony. The quantity of antimony in rings of hinoki and sugi was also measured to obtain information about chronological changes in environmental conditions. The quantity of antimony in the samples was determined by INAA. The antimony concentrations in eight soil samples at different points in the Tsugu mine area were 8–17,000 ppm.