Sequential determination of arsenic, selenium, antimony, and tellurium in foods via rapid hydride evolution and atomic absorption spectrometry

Analysis of acid digests of foods for As, Se, Sb, and Te was semiautomated. Hydrides generated by controlled addition of base stabilized NaBH4 solution to acid digests are transported directly into a shielded, hydrogen (nitrogen diluted), entrained-air flame for atomic absorption spectrophotometric determination of the individual elements. The detection limits, based on 1 g of digested sample, are approximately 10 to 20 ng/g for all four elements. Measurement precision is 1 to 2 percent relative standard deviation for each element measured at 0.10 μg. A comparison is made of results of analysis of lyophilized fish tissues for As and Se by instrumental neutron activation (INAA), hydride generation with atomic absorption spectrometry, fluorometry, and spectrophotometry. NBS standard reference materials (orchard leaves and bovine liver) analyzed for As, Se, and Sb by this method show excellent agreement with certified values and with independent NAA values