DETERMINATION OF LEAD IN HUMAN URINE USING ELECTROTHERMAL ATOMIC-ABSORPTION SPECTROMETRY WITH PROBE ATOMIZATION AND DEUTERIUM BACKGROUND CORRECTION

A procedure for the direct determination of lead in human urine using electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry with probe atomization and deuterium background correction is described. Human urine samples were diluted 1 + 3 with ultra-pure water and no chemical modifier or sample pre-treatment was necessary, thus reducing the risk of contamination. The concentration of lead in human urine was evaluated directly by aqueous standard calibration (avoiding the time-consuming technique of standard additions). The precision at the 5 mug l-1 level of lead was 3%. The detection limit (using the criterion of three times the standard deviation of the blank) was 0.3 mug l-1 of lead. The recovery of lead from urine samples was 100 +/- 5%. The method is especially suitable for the direct monitoring of lead in biological samples in occupationally exposed persons.