Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Determination of eight elements in animal chow, urine and wastewater. Final report

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6083544

Analytical procedures are described for the analysis of arsenic, calcium, cadmium, copper, lead, mercury, selenium, and zinc in animal feed. Mercury is determined by digesting the feed sample with concentrated HNO/sub 3/ and H/sub 2/SO/sub 4/ plus V2O5 as an oxidation catalyst, reducing the stannous chloride, and sweeping the elemental mercury into an absorption tube for measurement by atomic absorption (AA) spectrophotometry. Arsenic and selenium are determined simultaneously by digesting the sample with concentrated HNO/sub 3/, H/sub 2/SO/sub 4/, and HClO/sub 4/; forming their respective hybrides with the addition of sodium borohybride, which are swept into an argon-hydrogen flame for analysis by AA. A low temperature ash is prepared and dissolved in 1 N HNO/sub 3/ for the analysis of calcium, copper, and zinc, by emission spectroscopy using the inductively coupled argon plasma (ICAP) source. The same solution is used for the determination of cadmium and lead by flameless AA. Animal feed spiked with three levels of each of the eight elements yielded recoveries of between 80 and 107%. Development of specific methods for the recovery of these elements for wastewater and human urine was suspended due to overriding priorities within the Analytical Methods Branch. However, a method was developed for mercury in urine and blood to address the safety surveillance requirement for NCTR workers potentially exposed to methyl mercury chloride while dosing test animals with this chemical.

Research Organization:
National Center for Toxicological Research, Jefferson, AR (USA)
OSTI ID:
6083544
Report Number(s):
PB-86-117686/XAB; FDA/NCTR-86/32
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English