DETERMINATION OF TRACE-ELEMENTS IN AEROSOL SAMPLES COLLECTED ON POLYCARBONATE FILTERS BY ATOMIC-ABSORPTION SPECTROMETRY

The multi-element analysis of aerosol samples collected on polycarbonate filters and the wet digestion procedure in open vessel were investigated. The concentrations of Na, K, Ca, Mg and Zn were determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry with a micro injection system while Cd, Pb, Cu, Ni and V were determined by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). NIES N degrees and ''Vehicle Exhaust Particulate'' Certified Reference Material from the Japan Environment Agency was used to study the decomposition of the samples. Different treatments were applied in order to completely disserve the aerosol samples. It was found that, from all the methods tested, attack with micro-quantities of HNO3 and HClO4 in an air pressure digestion system was the best procedure for the determination of the elements by AAS. The recommended method was appropriate for all elements and it was applied to real samples. Two nondestructive analytical techniques for the determination of Na, K, Ca, Mg, Zn and Pb have been compared with the proposed method: proton induced X-ray emission (PIXE) and neutron activation analysis (NAA). Results obtained by the application of these three techniques were similar.