Determination of lead in urine by atomic absorption spectroscopy using coprecipitation with bismuth.

Abstract

Abstract Lead is separated from urine by coprecipitation with bismuth nitrate preparatory to analysis by atomic absorption spectroscopy. The procedure may be used in determining lead in freshly voided specimens and also in partially decomposed urines. The presence of bismuth in the analyte is compatible with the analysis and suppresses interferences from sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and phosphates. This determination is relatively simple, rapid, and may be performed in a routine clinical laboratory. Single determinations can be done in about 15 minutes and a run of 10 determinations per hour. Lead, added to urine in quantities of up to 100 μg per liter is recovered with a precision of 99 per cent and a standard deviation of 4.5 per cent. In patients with lead poisoning undergoing therapy with chelating agents, this procedure is not suitable nor is it necessary since the urine contains sufficient lead to be determined directly without prior concentration. Since the summer of 1964, this method has been used in confirming the diagnosis of plumbism in 24 children. Over 100 urine specimens obtained from patients with other diseases and healthy individuals served as controls.