DETERMINATION OF CADMIUM IN BLOOD AND URINE BY FLAME ATOMIC-FLUORESCENCE SPECTROMETRY

The development is described of an atomic-fluorescence method for the determination of cadmium in blood and urine. The method involves only the direct aspiration of acidified urine or diluted and acidified blood into the flame. Calibration is achieved simply by using acidified aqueous standards and by the application of a pre-determined correction factor to account for changes in the uptake rate. The sensitivity, accuracy and precision are comparable to those given by most techniques that are currently in use for the determination of cadmium in biological materials. The simplicity of the method permits rapid analyses of large numbers of samples (more than 25 samples per hour) and is particularly useful for the survey of populations of people exposed to cadmium. The instrumentation used employs a two-source background correction system. This is essential for maximum accuracy and allows automatic correction for the scatter, which is the primary cause of inaccuracies in the atomic-fluorescence spectrometric determination of cadmium.