Determination of beryllium in urine by graphite-furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

A method has been developed for the determination of beryllium in urine by graphite-furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. Ammonium 12-molybdophosphate and ascorbic acid were employed as a matrix modifier. The tolerable charring temperature for beryllium in both aqueous solution and urine was raised to 1400 °C in the presence of a matrix modifier. The sensitivity for the determination of beryllium was also improved by a factor of 1.5 in comparison with that obtained by using magnesium nitrate as a matrix modifier. The mechanism of the enhancement effect of ammonium molybdophosphate was ascribed to the effectiveness of the formation of gaseous BeO, which is a precursor of free beryllium. Beryllium in urine can be determined simply by dilution with ascorbic acid solution. The relative standard deviation for seven replicate determinations of beryllium was 1.9% for a urine sample containing 0.029 μg ml^?1 of beryllium.