Water Quality Laboratories are continually challenged to produce the best possible data in the minimum amount of time. EPA methods 200.7 (ICP, Inductively Coupled Plasma) and 200.8 (ICPMS, Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry) commonly used for metals analysis require digestion of water samples exceeding 1 NTU. EPA digestion methods number 3015 and 3050 are staples in environmental laboratories' analytical repertoire. EPA 3015, Microwave Assisted Acid Digestion of Aqueous Samples and Extracts, has been an acceptable method since September of 1994. Standard Methods 3030 K written for the 21st edition addresses microwave digestion. Improvements in microwave power, sample capacity, temperature and pressure monitoring of the operation of microwave units commercially available in the 21st Century make this a technology which can be very useful for preparation of samples. A significant savings in analyst time exists between digestion of water samples using wet methods versus microwave digestion. Our preliminary data suggests no significant difference has been found between these two methods.
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