We present a method for determining the chemical speciation of metals in en
vironmental particles based on Quick-X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy. The app
roach can be applied to either the extended or the near edge fine structure
, and consists in the decomposition of the XAS spectrum of an unknown sampl
e on a reference set of standards' spectra using quadratic linear programmi
ng. The analysis accounts for the statistical experimental errors generated
during the acquisition of X-ray absorption data, and leads to error estima
tes on the various fractions determined via a Monte Carlo procedure. An app
lication example is presented for the speciation of inorganic Zn in a conta
minated sediment sample.