EDXRF as an alternative method for multielement analysis of tropical soils and sediments Zahily Herrero Fernández & José Araújo dos Santos Júnior & Romilton dos Santos Amaral & Juan Reinaldo Estevez Alvarez & Edvane Borges da Silva & Elvis Joacir De França & Rômulo Simões Cezar Menezes & Emerson Emiliano Gualberto de Farias & Josineide Marques do Nascimento Santos Received: 27 February 2017 /Accepted: 1 August 2017 # Springer International Publishing AG 2017 Abstract The quality assessment of tropical soils and sediments is still under discussion, with efforts being made on the part of governmental agencies to establish reference values. Energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) is a potential analytical technique for quanti- fying diverse chemical elements in geological material without chemical treatment, primarily when it is per- formed at an appropriate metrological level. In this work, analytical curves were obtained by means of the analysis of geological reference materials (RMs), which allowed for the researchers to draw a comparison among the sources of analytical uncertainty. After having deter- mined the quality assurance of the analytical procedure, the EDXRF method was applied to determine chemical elements in soils from the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. The regression coefficients of the analytical curves used to determine Al, Ca, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Si, Sr, Ti, and Zn were higher than 0.99. The quality of the ana- lytical procedure was demonstrated at a 95% confidence level, in which the estimated analytical uncertainties agreed with those from the RM’ s certificates of analysis. The analysis of diverse geological samples from Per- nambuco indicated higher concentrations of Ni and Zn in sugarcane, with maximum values of 41 mg kg - 1 and 118 mg kg - 1 , respectively, and agricultural areas (41 mg kg - 1 and 127 mg kg - 1 , respectively). The trace element Sr was mainly enriched in urban soils with values of 400 mg kg - 1 . According to the results, the EDXRF method was successfully implemented, provid- ing some chemical tracers for the quality assessment of tropical soils and sediments. Keywords X-ray spectrometry . Chemical diversity . Soil pollution . Trace elements Introduction Soil contamination by toxic chemical elements is of utmost importance in an attempt to avoid the compromis- ing of water and food sources, taking into account the numerous chemical substances used by industries, resi- due disposal, pesticides, and chemical fertilizers employed in agricultural activities (Bretzel and Calderisi 2006; Ikem et al. 2008; Alamgir et al. 2015). In tropical environments, the search for reference values is a Environ Monit Assess (2017) 189:447 DOI 10.1007/s10661-017-6162-5 Z. H. Fernández : J. A. dos Santos Júnior : R. dos Santos Amaral : R. S. C. Menezes : J. M. do Nascimento Santos Departamento de Energia Nuclear (UFPE/DEN), Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Professor Luiz Freire, 1000, Cidade Universitária, Recife 50740-545, Brazil Z. H. Fernández (*) : J. R. E. Alvarez Centro de Aplicaciones Tecnológicas y Desarrollo Nuclear (CEADEN), 30 Street, 502, Playa, 6122 Havana, Cuba e-mail: zahily1985@gmail.com E. B. da Silva Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Núcleo de Biologia, Rua Alto do Reservatório, S/N, Bela Vista, Vitória de Santo Antão 55608-680, Brazil E. J. De França : E. E. G. de Farias Centro Regional de Ciências Nucleares do Nordeste (CRCN), Av. Professor Luiz Freire, 200, Recife 50740-545, Brazil