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     I am curious as to the number (if any) of folks who have tried to do laser ablation with BrF5 for 
oxygen isotope analysis of sulfate minerals as well as hydroxylated sulfur/sulfate species.  I would 
like to analyze alunite, and would like to hear from anyone who has gone down this road.  Also, I 
am pondering the wisdom of doing clay minerals by laser with BrF5, and recall several 
conversations with others who were attempting this.  We have an airlock design similar to John 
Valley's/Mike Spicuzza's in Madison, but I would like to know if the spattering issues during 
heating have been solved.

Dr. Doug Crowe
Department of Geology
University of Georgia
Athens, GA  30602  USA
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