GRAPHITE-FURNACE ATOMIC-ABSORPTION SPECTROSCOPIC MEASUREMENT OF BLOODLEAD IN MATRIX-MATCHED STANDARDS

Now that the level of concern for a toxic blood lead concentration is 0.482 mu mol/L (10 mu g/dL), laboratories must meet new requirements t o shorten analysis times and increase accuracy and precision of blood lead determinations. We used a matrix-matching method to estimate the lead concentration in blood by graphite furnace atomic absorption spec troscopy (GFAAS). For CDC proficiency samples and the NIST-Certified B lood Reference standard, the performance of this method compared favor ably with that of previously published GFAAS methods and of the anodic stripping voltammetric method routinely used in our laboratory. At le ad concentrations of 0.242 mu mol/L (5.01 mu g/dL) and 1.478 mu mol/L (30.63 mu g/dL), within-run CVs were 2.78% and 0.68%, respectively; be tween-run CVs were 4.9% and 1.35%. In 52 study samples with lead conte nt ranging from 0.097 to 3.812 mu mol/L (2 to 79 mu g/dL), 87% of resu lts by the matrix-modified method were within 0.048 mu mol/L (1 mu g/d L) of consensus values.