THE OUTLOOK FOR EQUIPMENT NECESSARY AND S UFFICIENT FOR SPECTROMETRICINORGANIC ELEMENTAL ANALYSIS AFTER THE YEAR 2000

With such a compelling topic it was easier to state the problem than t o solve it. The pragmatic assessment of spectrometric equipment readil y available on the market today for elemental analysis for a particula r application ist no easy task; to plan actual equipment necessary but also sufficient, for the future is an even more difficult undertaking for an analytical service continually plagued by cost pressures On th e strength of the rapid progress in the areas of mechanics, optics, el ectronics, but above all also of mathematical calculation software, a rationalisation potential only scarred today will be concluded in the future. As much as possible the development of new equipment should be for the benefit of rapid and convenient analytical qualify assurance with direct measurement of samples; installation and operational costs , such as minimising the chemicals needed and other consumables, hereb y play a decisive role. For technical progress to be marketable there must always be two prerequisites the necessity of an improvement and t he possibility of its realisation. If this in itself trivial situation is not critically examined, the requirement of the user can easily be circumvented, who under certain circumstances is no longer able to re invest in his proven type of spectrometer for the necessary quality as surance. Consequently backwards steps can occur if shortwinded self-in terests of the equipment developers with regard to the use of their pr oducts are reflected negatively in budgets. In today's view, exaggerat ed requirements for future complete automation of elemental analysis o n a wide front still appear to be in the realm of Utopia. Nevertheless experiments on automation also signal complex methods with high accur acy which have brought success in this direction within grasp. Also in the future the analyst will have to ensure great care and presence of mind when developing exacting methods, even if a more efficient speci alised instrumental laboratory is available to him. The goal of each d evelopment in this regard can only be to have available an analytical service of high quality which is not time consuming. Analytical instru ment technology will, as before, depend on various proven measurement principles. As a consequence of this, and in the light of possible fut ure developments, consideration was given to the established methods: spark-OES, glow discharge-OES, ICP-OES, AAS, WD-XRF and ED-XRF. It is to be hoped that the development potential in vested in subsidiary bra nches of these measurement principles will be used in future in favour of measurement principles themselves.