Abstract
Slurry-based procedures for the rapid determination of arsenic and antimony in soil and sediment samples by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry are discussed. For the determination of arsenic, the samples are suspended in a solution containing dilute hydrofluoric acid. Sodium hydrogen carbonate is added and aliquots are introduced into the graphite furnace. A fast heating programme with no pyrolysis step is used. For the determination of antimony, direct suspension in concentrated hydrofluoric acid is recommended. In this way, the interference of silicon is avoided and the background level is reduced, allowing a fast heating programme to be used. The limit of detection of antimony for a 100 mg ml −1 suspension is 0.03 μg g −1. The results obtained for five certified reference materials using both direct calibration against aqueous standards and the standard additions method demonstrate the reliability of the procedures.
Published Version
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