Electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry in occupational and environmental health practice—a decade of progress and establishment. A review. Invited lecture

Abstract

Electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) is today an established technique in the vast application area of occupational and environmental health practice. Up to 52 elements have so far been determined in biological matrices such as body fluids and tissues, food and related samples with a view to the assessment of occupational and environmental exposure. For at least a third of these analytes ETAAS is the current technique of choice. The progress in this field over the last decade is critically reviewed and discussed. Emphasis is given to the development of direct procedures and simple pre-treatment techniques, the selection of suitable chemical modifiers and appropriate reaction media, some practical problems, as well as the rational combination of the graphite atomizer with preconcentration and speciation techniques.