Lab - Metals

Trace metals analyses are performed using an inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometer (ICP) and a graphite furnace atomic absorption (AA) spectrometer. Present capabilities include a Perkin-Elmer Avio 500 ICP spectrometer with autosampler. The ICP also utilizes an axial view plasma, which improves detection limits by an order of magnitude over the side view plasma. Samples to be analyzed by the ICP are acid digested in a ThermaBlock-36 Heating Block Acid Digestion System. The Agilent 240FS AA Fast Sequential Atomic Absorption Spectrometer with a GTA 120 Graphite Tube Atomizer and a PSD 120 autosampler is a graphite furnace AA equipped with a solid-state detector, which provides an exceptional signal-to-noise ratio for superior detection limits and precision. The furnace assembly is a Transversely Heated Graphite Atomizer (THGA) with longitudinal Zeeman-effect background correction. A 0.8 Tesla magnetic field is oriented longitudinally to the optical path. Current application is for determining low levels of lead, with potential for determining low levels of arsenic, selenium, antimony and thallium, in water/wastewater samples, as well as various solids and biosolids samples.