ABSTRACT
The detection and quantitative determination of metals or metallic compounds in aerosols suffers from a lack of promptness. Impaction techniques have been widely and extensively used in industrial hygiene for the collection and sizing of aerosols. Several atomic spectroscopic techniques have shown potential for directly determining metals in air including electrostatic precipitation-graphite furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy and laser-induced breakdown spectrometry. Increasing awareness and concern about the deleterious effects of atmospheric and industrial pollution caused by metals or metallic compounds has led to a need and desire for a rapid, direct, in situ, and real-time detection system. The movement of an aerosol in a single stage Impaction-graphite furnace system is extremely complex: the motion relies on many factors including flow rate, jet diameter, and the distance from the jet exit to the graphite furnace. The graphite furnaces used as the collection or impaction surface are, for the most part, from commercial graphite furnace atomization systems.
