Determination of tin in atmospheric particulate matter by hydride generation and atomic absorption spectrometry

A procedure is described for the determination of tin in atmospheric particulate matter collected on Whatman 41 cellulose filters. The samples are decomposed with sulfuric acid and nitric acid, followed by hydrofluoric acid to dissolve residual silicates. The analytical parameters for the hydride generation and the subsequent atomic absorption spectrometric measurements are optimized. Severe memory effects encountered with an automatic generator system are avoided when a manual apparatus is used. The precision of the entire method is within 10%. The detection limit is 0.20 ng m^?3 tin if 500 m³ of air is filtered. The concentrations found in residential and industrial areas varied between 1.8 and 47.5 ng m^?3.