Determination of lead in drinking water by atomic-absorption spectrophotometry using an electrically heated graphite furnace and an ammonium tetramethylenedithiocarbamate extraction technique

Abstract

The determination of lead in drinking water using electrothermal atomisers has been shown to suffer from serious suppression effects. This paper deals with a semi-micro technique that chelates and separates the lead into an organic extract prior to analysis. The extract is then injected directly into the atomiser without the need to separate the two phases. The method is shown to conform to the now generally accepted standard adopted by the Water Industry for trace metal analysis.