THE DETERMINATION OF METALS (ANTIMONY, BISMUTH, LEAD, CADMIUM, MERCURY, PALLADIUM, PLATINUM, TELLURIUM, THALLIUM, TIN AND TUNGSTEN) IN URINE SAMPLES BY INDUCTIVELY-COUPLED PLASMA-MASS SPECTROMETRY

Objective: An analytical method has been established to determine the concentration of antimony (Sb), bismuth (Bi), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), palladium (Pd), platinum (Pt), tellurium (Te), tin (Sn) , thallium (TI) and tungsten (W) in urine. The aim was to develop a me thod which is equally suitable for the determination of environmentall y as well as occupationally caused metal excretion. Methods: Inductive ly coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) was used for the determin ation of metals. Calibration was done using aqueous solutions and stan dard addition respectively. Results: Urine samples of 14 persons occup ationally non-exposed to metals were analysed. With the exception of P t and Bi all the metals were found in these urine samples. The detecti on limits for these metals lie between 5 and 50 ng/l. Conclusions: For some metals, which are important from an occupational as well as an e nvironmental viewpoint, ICP-MS is more sensitive than atomic absorptio n spectrometry (AAS). ICP-MS, moreover, is welcome as a reference meth od for AAS with the additional advantage of multi-element measurement.