Spectrographic Determination of Elements in Airborne Dirt

Abstract

An emission spectrographic method is described to determine the concentrations of aluminum, cadmium, calcium, chromium, copper, iron, lead, magnesium, nickel, silicon, tin, and zinc in airborne dirt. A measured volume of air is drawn through a 1 in. filter paper. The filter is analyzed by a direct reading emission spectrograph using a push-up technique to introduce the sample into the analytical gap. Calculations and report writing are performed by a computer. Computer programs aid the data interpretation by annotating the results and by the preparation of summaries and graphs. The precision is approximately ±25% of the amount present at the 3 µg level. Analysis time is about 5 min/sample.