The Determination of Arsenic by Flame AAS Using the Zeeman Effect and its Application to the Analysis of Sediment Extracts

Abstract A polarized Zeeman Effect Atomic Absorption Spectrometer has been used for the analysis of arsenic in chemical extracts of sediments using a procedure designed to provide information on the potential availability of trace elements. The limit of determination for arsenic was found to be 0.09 μg/ml−1 for standard solutions. The minimal baseline noise associated with the instrument afforded very good stability of the calibration conditions at the 0.50 mu;g/ml−1 concentration level. Accuracy tests performed with standard reference materials showed good agreement for the determinations in the extracts. The analysis of a lake bottom sediment is used to demonstrate the value of this instrumental technique in the determination of arsenic in difficult matrices.