MULTIELEMENT ANALYSIS OF AIRBORNE PARTICULATE MATTER BY VARIOUS SPECTROMETRIC METHODS AFTER MICROWAVE DIGESTION

A microwave digestion procedure in combination of the measurement of v arious spectrometric methods including atomic absorption spectrometry, inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry and inductive ly coupled plasma mass spectrometry was developed for the multi-elemen t analysis of airborne particulate matter collected on PTFE filters by a dichotomous sampler. In order to achieve more sensitive and rapid m ulti-element analyses, special PTFE-lined digestion vessels were used. It was found that complete digestion of airborne particulates with an acid mixture of HNO3-HClO4-HF (3:7:1, v/v/v) can be achieved in the m icrowave-irradiated closed vessel system and direct spectroscopic meas urement of the digested sample after appropriate dilution. A recovery study was conducted using a multi-element standard and NIST Standard R eference Material 1648 Urban Particulate. Sixteen major, minor, and tr ace elements in airborne particulate matter were determined.