Determination of lead content in soils by nonflame atomic absorption spectrometry

The tecnique is described of the direct (without conceptrating) atom-absorption determination of lead in soils. The determination has been performed using an atom-absorption spectrometer with a graphite furnace. The results of studies of the influence of foreign elements on the lead determination are given. To obtain accurate analytic results, soil specimens must be decomposed in a mixture of nitric and hydrofluoric acids followed by the dissolving of the sediment in diluted nitric acid; or by a mixture of hydrochloric and hydrofluoric acids followed by the dissolving of the sediment in diluted hydrochloric acid and buffering by 1%-ascorbic acid. The technique proposed for the determination of lead in soils has a sensitivity of measurements of 0.001 μg/l and a detection limit of 0.0005 μg/l