A comparison has been made of eight acid extraction systems prior to the atomic absorption analysis of lead, nickel, copper, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, zinc, arsenic and mercury in street dust samples. Statistical treatment of the results enabled a valid comparison to be made in terms of overall extraction efficiency. For the purposes of carrying out large scale environmental surveys it was found that extraction with dilute nitric acid was the most suitable method. Analysis of the extracts by atomic absorption spectroscopy was shown to permit the accumulation of reliable data with the minimum requirement of apparatus and time.
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