Round-robin study of methods for trace metal analysis

Technical Report · Wed May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1991

OSTI ID:5689906

Maddalone, R F; Scott, J W; Whiddon, N T ^[1]

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1. TRW, Inc., Redondo Beach, CA (USA). Applied Technology Div.

Federal and state permits are requiring electric utilities to monitor power plant effluents for increasingly lower concentrations of trace metals, in some cases at or below levels detectable by an EPA-approved method. However, measurements of chemical constituents vary with the properties of the wastewater sample. A central source of verified data on the precision, recovery, and limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) for various methods would help utilities define reasonable effluent guidelines and monitoring requirements and aid in the selection of appropriate analytic methods. EPRI sponsored this work to evaluate EPA Method 200.7 (ICP-AES). The objective of this project was to verify the precision, recovery, limits of detection, and limits of quantification of EPA Method 200.7 (ICP-AES) for detecting specific trace elements in typical utility wastewater samples. Investigators developed a test program based on ASTM D2777-86 protocols. At utility sites, they collected several types of wastewater samples and injected specific trace metals into them. Using EPA-accepted methodology, round-robin tests at 20 utility laboratories developed single-operator and multiple-operator (overall) precision data for each element and sample matrix combination. The team then computed LODs and LOQs for each matrix and average LOD and LOQ values for fresh water, seawater, and treated chemical metal-cleaning wastes. They then compared these values with concentrations specified by EPA and with federal water quality criteria (WQC). 207 figs., 29 tabs.

• Research Organization: Electric Power Research Inst., Palo Alto, CA (USA); TRW, Inc., Redondo Beach, CA (USA). Applied Technology Div.
• Sponsoring Organization: EPRI; Electric Power Research Inst., Palo Alto, CA (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5689906
• Report Number(s): EPRI-CS-5910-Vol.3-Pt.1
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
400102* -- Chemical & Spectral Procedures
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540320 -- Environment
Aquatic-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
ACCURACY
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
ELECTRIC UTILITIES
ELEMENTS
EMISSION SPECTROSCOPY
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
LIQUID WASTES
MEASURING METHODS
METALS
MULTI-ELEMENT ANALYSIS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POWER PLANTS
PUBLIC UTILITIES
SEAWATER
SPECTROSCOPY
TRACE AMOUNTS
WASTE WATER
WASTES
WATER
WATER QUALITY