Extraction of arsenic species from spiked soils and standard reference materials

Abstract

The abilities of various extractants to recover four arsenic species [As(III), As(V), dimethylarsinic acid (DMA), and monomethylarsonic acid (MMA)] from soils spiked with 20 µg g⁻¹ As were investigated. The extractants were water, buffer solutions (citrate and ammonium dihydrogen phosphate), acidic solutions (phosphoric acid and acetic acid), a basic solution (sodium hydroxide) and household chemicals (vinegar and Coca Cola). Gentle shaking at room temperature with each extractant for 24 h gave different recoveries for the different arsenic species. With 0.1 M NaOH solution 46% As(III), 53% DMA, 100% MMA and 84% As(V) were recovered. A rapid extraction procedure using a sonicator probe has been developed to obtain higher extraction efficiencies. Extracts of arsenic-spiked soil, SRM 2711 Montana soil and SRM 2709 San Joaquin soil were analyzed by HPLC-ICP-MS. In the SRM water extracts, DMA and MMA were identified in addition to inorganic arsenic. The solution detection limits (3s) were 0.1, 0.12, 0.13 and 0.15 ng mL⁻¹ for As(III), DMA, MMA and As(V), respectively for HPLC-ICP-MS.