Simultaneous determination of As, Cd, Cr and Pb in aqua regia digests of soils and sediments using electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry and fast furnace programs

A method was developed for the simultaneous multi-element determination of As, Cd, Cr and Pb in aqua regia digests of soils and sediments using an electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometer with a transversely heated graphite atomizer and longitudinal Zeeman-effect background correction. A fast furnace program with no pyrolysis stage or chemical modifier was used, and the total duration of the time-temperature program of the graphite furnace was 45 s. The method detection limits calculated from blank samples were 9.5 μg l−1, 0.18 μg l−1, 6.2 μg l−1 and 2.5 μg l−1 for As, Cd, Cr and Pb, respectively. Sample preparation procedures are briefly described. The accuracy of the method was confi…