A wide variety of environmental samples such as waters (drinking water, waste waters, or natural waters), soils, sediments, and air particulates are analyzed for trace elements. Regulated elements that may have potentially toxic concentrations in these samples are of particular importance; some notable examples are arsenic, cadmium, lead, and thallium. Meanwhile, soils are monitored as much for nutrient levels as they are for potentially toxic contaminants. Some key nutrients are phosphorous, zinc, copper, sodium, magnesium and calcium.
Atomic spectroscopic techniques such as ICP-AES and ICP-MS are widely used for measurements of trace elements in environmental samples. Teledyne CETAC offers a variety of sample introduction and sample handling accessories to improve the quality and efficiency of these ICP-AES and ICP-MS measurements.