Robot-assisted Measurement of Heavy Metals in Indoor Dust Using ICP-MS

Abstract

Indoor dust consists of suspended particles originated from inhouse and external sources and can contain a high number of organic and inorganic contaminants. Heavy metals such as chromium, cadmium, arsenic, mercury or lead are not degradable and can have negative impact on human health including allergic reactions, intoxications, and cancer diseases. The concentration of heavy metals in indoor dust strongly depends on environmental conditions at the sampling points. There is a need for fast and sensitive measurement methods for identification and quantification of the elemental composition of indoor dust. This enables a more extensive investigation of our everyday environment. A method for the determination of heavy metals in dust samples using a microwave-assisted acid digestion and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was developed, validated and transferred to an automated robotic system. This system enables an automated sample preparation including measurement and final data evaluation. The performance of the automation system - including processing times, repeatability and recovery - was determined and compared with the manual measurement procedure. Collected dust samples from different origin were automatically prepared using the robotic system, measured and evaluated.