Question

I work in a public health laboratory in a small mining town and we have the chance to buy equipment to test for lead and cadmium in wastewater, and mercury in not just wastewater, but also in blood, hair and urine.

It is known that the only method to determine mercury in atomic absorption spectroscopy is the cold vapor method, and that there are specific instruments like this one, that can analyze mercury in all those types of samples (biological or water).

Is there any spectrometer that can be used to measure all three of these metals or do we need to buy one for mercury and another for the other metals?

Answer 1

You may need different spectrometers for different heavy metals; while mercury requires cold vapor atomic absorption spectroscopy, lead and cadmium can be measured with other AAS techniques.

Step-by-step explanation:

The analysis of heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, and mercury in different samples requires atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) and possibly other techniques depending on the metal and the sample type.

For mercury, particularly in biological samples like blood, hair, and urine, as well as in wastewater, a technique called the cold vapor atomic absorption spectroscopy (CVAAS) must be used because it is the only method suitable for mercury analysis in these matrices.

On the other hand, lead and cadadium are typically measured using different AAS techniques that do not require the cold vapor process. While there are some versatile AAS instruments capable of analyzing multiple elements, depending on the samples and the specific heavy metals, it may be necessary to purchase different spectrometers or a single instrument with appropriate attachments or modules for detecting each metal.