Este trabalho avalia indicadores biológicos de exposição ocupacional de trabalhadores de incineradores de resíduos de serviços de saúde. Os elementos estudados são arsênio, berílio, cádmio, mercúrio, níquel (amostras de urina) e chumbo (amostras de sangue). Os índices obtidos são comparados com (a) os limites estabelecidos pela legislação brasileira, (b) os limites estabelecidos pela American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) e (c) com os mesmos índices medidos em outros trabalhadores das mesmas usinas trabalhando em diferentes áreas, funções e turnos. As determinações foram realizadas por espectrometria de absorção atômica: por forno de grafite para berílio, cádmio, níquel e chumbo; através da geração de hidreto para arsênio; por geração de vapor frio para mercúrio. Os métodos foram otimizados e validados através de material certificado e ensaios de recuperação. As amostras foram coletadas em 5 dias consecutivos, antes e após cada jornada de trabalho. As médias de concentração para os indicadores biológicos foram inferiores aos limites para exposição ocupacional para os agentes estudados. No caso do arsênio, entretanto, alguns indivíduos apresentaram valores de concentração acima do estabelecido pela legislação brasileira. / The biological occupational exposure indices of workers in medical waste incineration plants is evaluated. Arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, mercury and nickel (urine samples) and lead (blood samples) are studied. The measured indices are compared with (a) the limits imposed by Brazilian law, (b) limits established by American Conference of Industrial Governmental Hygienists and (c) the same indices measured for co-workers in different workplaces, activities and workshifts. The measurements have been carried through atomic absorption spectrometry: by graphite furnace for of beryllium, cadmium, nickel and lead; using the hidride generation for arsenic; and by cold vapor generation for Hg. The employed methods have been optimized and validated through certified samples and recovery essays. The samples were collected in 5 consecutive workdays, before and after each working shift. The measured indices are found to be below their respective occupational exposure limits when the average for each group of workers is taken. In the case of the arsenic, however, some individual workers have shown levels above the limits imposed by Brazilian law.

Este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar o filamento de tungstênio de 150 W (OSRAM) como atomizador eletrotérmico para determinação de alumínio em amostras de águas, incluindo um estudo sistemático sobre o seu comportamento eletrotérmico na presença de até 1000 mg l-1 de sódio, potássio, cálcio, magnésio e/ou da mistura destes elementos. Alguns parâmetros, como comprimento de onda, corrente da lâmpada de catodo oco, altura de observação e temperatura de atomização do alumínio foram avaliados visando à melhoria da qualidade dos resultados e do limite de detecção. Após uma primeira avaliação, fixaram-se o comprimento de onda em 309,3 nm e a corrente da lâmpada de catodo oco em 10 mA, elegendo-se altura de observação de 1,5 mm e temperatura de atomização de 2860 oC (13,0 V). No programa de aquecimento usado no desenvolvimento deste trabalho adotou-se rampa invertida de voltagem variando entre 0,65 a 0,30 V durante 50 s para secagem de 10 µl, 2,8 V durante 10 s para pirólise e 13,0 V durante 1 s para atomização. As soluções usadas no desenvolvimento deste trabalho formam preparadas, em sua maioria, em meio 0,1 % v/v HNO3. A avaliação dos potenciais interferentes Na, K, Ca, Mg e a mistura desses elementos foi realizada nas alturas de observação de 0,0 a 2,0 mm e nas composições do gás de proteção de 90% Ar/10% H2, 80% Ar/20% H2, 65% Ar/35% H2. Pode-se inferir que o aumento do hidrogênio na composição do gás de proteção não acarretou melhora significativa na ação dos interferentes na atomização do alumínio. Não foram observadas interferências significativas em até 1000 mg l-1 Na e K na atomização de 100 µg l-1 Al na altura de observação de 0,0 mm. Na mesma condição de altura de observação, a mistura dos interferentes não afetou significativamente a atomização do alumínio. Observaram-se interferências em torno de 40 % na atomização de 100 µg l-1 Al em 0,1 % v/v HNO3 na altura de observação de 0,0 mm na presença de até 100 mg l-1 de Ca e Mg. Nessa mesma condição, mas com a mistura 65 % Ar/35 % H2, a supressão do sinal de absorbância de alumínio foi da ordem 90%. Os resultados obtidos na determinação de alumínio em amostras de água foram obtidos nas condições anteriormente citadas, utilizando gás de proteção 90% Ar/ 10% H2. Nestas condições, o limite de detecção foi de 2,3 µg l-1 Al e a massa característica de 69 pg Al. Os resultados encontrados foram satisfatórios e concordantes com aqueles encontrados quando se utilizou o forno de grafite como método de comparação. Aproximadamente 500 queimas foram feitas com um único filamento de tungstênio. / The aim of this paper was to evaluate the 150 W (OSRAM) tungsten coil as electrothermal atomizer in order to determine aluminum in water samples as well as a systematic study of its electrothermal behavior in the presence of up to 1000 mg l-1 of sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium and/or of mixture of these elements. Some parameters, such as wavelength, hollow cathode lamp current, observation height and atomization temperature were evaluated in order to improve the quality of results and the detection limit. After a first evaluation, measurements were always carried out at 309,3 nm as well as the hollow cathode lamp current at 10 mA, and it was adopted an observation height of 1,5 mm and atomization temperature at 2860 oC (13,0 V). In the heating program defined experimentally, the inverted voltage ramp was adopted for drying 10 μl of sample solution by varying the applied voltage from 0,65 to 0,30 V during 50 s, with further application of 2,8 V for 10 s in the pyrolysis step and 13,0 V for 1 s in the atomization step. Most solutions were prepared in 0,1% v/v HNO3. The evaluation of the potential interfering elements such as Na, K, Ca, Mg an the mixture of these elements, was carried out in observations heights from 0,0 to 2,0 mm at different gas compositions: 90% Ar/ 10% H2 , 80 % Ar/ 20% H2 and 65 % Ar/ 35% H2. It can be inferred that the hydrogen increase in the protection gas did not change the interference behavior of the studied concomitants on aluminum atomization. Significant interferences were not observed up to 1000 mg l-1 of Na and K in the atomization of 100 μg l-1 Al when the optical beam was intercepting the atomizer (0,0 mm observation height). In the same condition, the mixture of the interfering species did not significantly affect the aluminum atomization. In addition, 100 mg l-1 of Ca and Mg depressed the absorbance of 100 μg l-1 Al in 0,1 % v/v HNO3 by approximately 40 %. When the atomization was made in the presence of 65 % Ar/ 35 % H2, the suppression of the aluminum absorbance signal was about 90 %. The results obtained in the determination of aluminum in water samples were achieved in the conditions previously mentioned, using protection gas of 90 % / 10 % H. In these conditions, the detection limit was 2,3 μg l-1 Al and the characteristic mass was 69 pg Al. The results were reasonable and in agreement with those found by atomic absorption with graphite furnace as a comparative method. Approximately 500 firings were made with a single tungsten coil.

Electrochemical hydride generation is an alternative technique to the chemical hydride generation by NaBH4 which is widely used for atomic spectrometric determination of volatile elements such as As, Bi, Ge, Pb, Sb, Se, Sn and Te. The aim of this research has been to develop an analytical technique at the level of ng/L for determination of antimony by using a simple and inexpensive AA spectrometer and the other parts that can be built in any laboratory. Carbon rod and platinum foil were used as cathode and anode materials, respectively, for the generation of antimony hydride. Argon was used as the carrier gas. Zr coated W-coil was used for on-line preconcentration of generated hydrides. A new apparatus independent from quartz T-tube atomizer was constructed and used to contain the atom trap. Zr coated W-trap was heated to the collection temperature for trapping the analyte species generated electrochemically. For the revolatilization of the trapped species, the trap was further heated to the revolatilization temperature. Revolatilized species were transported to a flame-heated quartz tube atomizer where the analytical signal was recorded. Duringcollection and revolatilization steps hydrogen gas was introduced into the system to prevent the oxidation of atom trap. The experimental operation conditions for electrochemical hydride generation and atom trapping were optimized. 3&amp / #963 / limit of detections were found to be 0.012 ng/mL and 0.41 ng/mL with and without using trap, respectively. The trap has provided 34 fold sensitivity improvement as compared with the electrochemical hydride generation alone. The interferences of some hydride forming elements and some transition metals on electrochemical hydride generation with and without employing the trap were investigated. Analysis of standard reference material was performed to check the accuracy of the proposed method.

Antimony is a toxic element which is mostly found in two oxidation states (III and V) in environmental, biological and geological samples. Antimony may form various inorganic and organic compounds that exhibit differences in analytical behavior, toxicity and mobility / inorganic compounds of antimony are more toxic than organic forms and toxicity of Sb(III) has been shown to be 10 times higher than that of Sb(V). Therefore selective determination of Sb(III) and Sb(V) is required in environmental and biological samples. Hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry is a sensitive, fast and economical technique for the determination of antimony at trace level. A possible non-chromatographic method for antimony speciation is hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry that is based on the relatively slow kinetics of hydride formation from Sb(V). In this study, continuous flow hydride generation method for the determination of antimony was developed and hydride generation conditions were optimized. Analyte solution was prepared in 0.050 mol/L HCl and 1.2% (w/v) NaBH4 stabilized in 0.30% (w/v) NaOH was used as a reductant solution. Inorganic antimony speciation conditions were determined by continuous flow HGAAS system. For the pre-reduction of Sb(V) to Sb(III), 8.0% (w/v) potassium iodide (KI) and 0.10% (w/v) ascorbic acid were used. Further speciation study was also carried out using Ir coated W-coil Atom Trap Hydride Generation Atomic Absorption Spectrometry. Tungsten coil atom trap was used to enhance the sensitivity. Tungsten coil surface was treated with Ir and totally 250 &amp / #956 / g 1000 mg/L Ir stock solution was used for coating of tungsten coil. LOD and LOQ values were calculated as 152 pg/mL and 508 pg/mL according to 120 seconds trapping. 128 and 37 fold enhancement were obtained for 120 seconds collection with respect to W-coil-ETAAS and ETAAS, respectively.

Determination of thallium is important due to its toxic effects on the environment and human health. Extremely low abundance of thallium in earth crust requires very sensitive and accurate methods for determination of this element. Although volatile compound generation is a sensitive, fast and economical method, thallium determination by this method has not been sufficiently investigated in literature, because of the fact that the formation of volatile forms of this element is a difficult task. A continuous flow volatile compound generation system was developed and parameters that affect the analytical signal were optimized. Sample solutions were acidified with 0.5 mol/L HNO3 and prepared in 0.0005% (v/v) rhodamine B and 1.0 mg/L Pd while 0.5% (m/v) NaBH4 stabilized in 0.5% (m/v) NaOH was used as reductant. Fast decomposition and unstability of thallium volatile species affected system performance negatively. Flow injection volatile compound generation studies were carried out with a special system. After optimizations, LOD and LOQ values were calculated as 12 ng/mL and 40 ng/mL according to peak height values in HNO3 medium. Similarly, in HCl medium LOD and LOQ values were calculated as 14 ng/mL and 45 ng/mL. Addition of Te and Pd to the sample solution containing co-enhancement reagent rhodamine B improved volatile compound generation efficiency in peak height by 3.6 and 9.3, respectively. Type of the acid used was affected peak heights and peak shapes of Tl+ and Tl3+ volatile species and HNO3 medium gave better results. By changing the location of introduction for Ar gas, the sources of memory effects and reasons of peak broadening were investigated. Most of the memory effects were coming from the gas-liquid separator (GLS) or before the GLS, as well as T-tube atomizer. Nature and behavior of Tl volatile species were also investigated and it was found that Tl and also Pd were generated in the form of nanoparticles. Transmission electron microscopic (TEM) measurements prove the presence of Tl nanoparticles in the analyte species transported to the atomizer by the effect of carrier Ar gas.

ABSTRACT Toxicological studies have shown that the degree of toxicity of some elements depends on the chemical form in which the element is present. Chromium (III) is considered as an essential micronutrient for human whereas chromium (VI) is a potentially carcinogenic agent. So the speciation of inorganic chromium in environmental samples is required for accurate assessment of pollution levels. The chromium content in natural water is usually very low, and a preconcentration is often necessary prior to the determination. A sensitive and selective preconcentration and speciation procedure is developed for the determination of trace and ultra trace amounts of chromium species by utilizing chemiluminescence (CL) and flame atomic absorption spectrometric (FAAS) techniques. The performances of amino silica-gel, amino sol-gel, mercapto silica-gel beads and metal oxides for solid phase extraction of chromium are examined either in column or batch type studies. Considering the advantage of concentrating Cr(III) and Cr(VI) ions separately simply by adjusting the pH of the medium, amino silica-gel resin is chosen in this study. The influences of different experimental parameters on the separation and preconcentration of chromium species such as pH, eluent concentration, flow rate, particle size of the resin are investigated. Chemiluminescence detection studies are performed by using the catalytic effect of Cr (III) on the reaction between luminol and hydrogen-peroxide and Cr (VI) is detected after reduction to Cr (III). Luminol and H2O2 concentrations and the pH of the medium are optimized to increase the sensitivity of the system. Chemiluminescence is inherently a very sensitive technique. When a preconcentration step is included in the CL mesurement of very low concentrations of chromium is possible to determine. Indeed, a 25-fold enhancement in sensitivity of chromium ions is achieved after incorporating amino silane&ndash / gel colums in the system and 0.2 &amp / #61549 / g/L of chromium (corresponds to the concentration of chromium in natural waters) was measured. A fully automated FI-CL system is designed that allows all necessary operations to be performed on-line. This system allows the pre-conditioning of micro-columns with different buffer solutions / adsorption of chromium species in micro-columns / washing these columns to remove interfering matrix components / elution of the species with minimum volume / transporting the species and chemiluminescence reagents to the cell / and, finally, cleaning of all pertinent conduits in the FIA-system in order to prevent carry-over between individual samples.

ABSTRACT ELECTROCHEMICAL HYDRIDE GENERATION AND ATOM TRAPPING ATOMIC ABSORPTION SPECTROMETRY FOR DETERMINATION OF ANTIMONY Menemenlioglu, ipek M.S., Department of Chemistry Supervisor: Prof. Dr. O. Yavuz Ataman June 2004, 82 pages Electrochemical hydride generation is a suitable alternative to common hydride generation by NaBH4 which is widely used for the detection of volatile elements such as As, Se, Sb, Sn, Bi, Ge, Te and Pb. In this study, a thin-layer flow through electrochemical cell was designed. Lead and platinum foils were employed as cathode and anode materials, respectively, for the generation of antimony hydride. Argon was used as the carrier gas. The inlet arm of the conventional quartz tube atomizer was used for on-line preconcentration of generated hydrides. A portion of the inlet arm was heated externally to the collection temperature for trapping the analyte species which were generated electrochemically. For the revolatilization of the trapped species, the trap was further heated to the revolatilization temperature and hydrogen gas was introduced into the system 10 seconds afterwards. The experimental operation conditions for electrochemical hydride generation which include the acidities and flow rates of catholyte and anolyte solutions, carrier gas flow rate and the applied electric current, were optimized. For trapping, collection and revolatilization temperatures and hydrogen flow rates were optimized. Analyses of standard reference materials were performed to check the accuracy of the proposed method. 3&amp / #963 / limit of detections were found as 1.03 ng ml-1 and 0.053 ng ml-1 with and without employing the trap, respectively. The trap has provided 20 fold sensitivity improvement.

Trace amounts of germanium is determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry by utilizing the vaporization of germanium tetrachloride. Using a continuous flow reactor, sample solution is mixed with concentrated hydrochloric acid and heated to 80&ordm / C to form volatile germanium tetrachloride which can be subsequently sent to N2O-C2H2 flame AAS. The necessary conditions for the volatilization of germanium tetrachloride are investigated in detail and the applicability of the method for the determination of trace amounts of germanium in real samples and standard reference materials are presented. Detection limit of the method, based on 3s, was 0.034 ng mL-1 using a sample of 1 mL. The precision was 0.3 %, expressed as the relative standard deviation for a germanium concentration of 1 ng mL-1. Owing to the high selectivity of the proposed method, no interference effect was observed.

Removal of lead from municipal wastewater using a constructed wetland with a horizontal subsurface flow was studied. Wastewater, wetland plant and sediment samples were analyzed using an AAS Thermo Scientific iCE 3500. Average concentrations of lead in inflow and outflow water in 2015 were 1.47 and 0.74 ?g/l, respectively. Average concentrations of lead in inflow and outflow water in 2016 were 0.75 and 0.38 ?g/l. The average efficiency of lead removal was 49.2 %. Lead concentrations in vegetation (Phragmites australis) varied in the range of 0.081-0.087 mg/kg and 0.48-0.17 mg/kg for the above and belowground biomass, respectively. Lead concentration in sediments were 9.79 and 4.86 mg/kg at distances of 1 and 10 m from inflow zone. Lead and other heavy metals were predominantly removed from wastewater at the initial part of the wetland bed.

Orientador: Marcelo Alexandre Prado / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-11T09:10:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Torrezan_MarinaAlvarez_M.pdf: 599247 bytes, checksum: 94d08561b45519ee935426b1a68419e9 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008 / Resumo: O mel é um dos alimentos mais antigos conhecido pelo ser humano, sendo que suas propriedades terapêuticas já eram descritas desde a antiguidade. É produzido por meio de abelhas melíferas a partir do néctar das flores ou outras secreções das plantas, o qual é transformado, combinado com enzimas salivares, armazenado e amadurecido nos favos das colméias. Os elementos minerais essenciais são divididos entre macroelementos (cálcio, fósforo, potássio, sódio, cloro, magnésio, enxofre) e microelementos (ferro, cobre, zinco, cobalto, manganês, iodo, flúor, selênio, cromo, silício), de acordo com as quantidades, maiores ou menores em que são encontrados no organismo humano. Quimicamente, trata-se de uma matriz complexa, composta por água, glicose, frutose, sacarose, cinzas, ácidos, grãos de pólen, partículas de cera, proteínas, pigmentos, álcoois, aminoácidos, dextrinas, enzimas, compostos voláteis, vitaminas e minerais. A composição depende da origem e da constituição do néctar, sendo que a concentração de minerais normalmente varia de 0,1 a 1,0%. É um desafio analítico determinar metais em alimentos ricos em açúcar, devido à interferência da matriz. A técnica mais comum de espectrometria de absorção atômica é a com atomização por chama, a qual foi utilizada neste trabalho. Quando há amostra, o vapor atômico absorve parte da radiação ressonante emitida pela fonte, que é demonstrado pelo enfraquecimento da cor do feixe que passa pela chama. Tal processo está relacionado com a concentração do analito a ser determinado. Trata-se de uma técnica analítica notável por sua seletividade, velocidade, baixo custo operacional, simplicidade e estabilidade. Este trabalho teve como objetivo determinar valores de cálcio, cobre, ferro, magnésio, manganês, potássio, sódio e zinco. Os valores encontrados variaram de 1,91- 4,52 mg/g, <0,35-1,04 mg/g, 1,00-3,66 mg/g, traços de magnésio (<0,1 mg/g), 0,24-4,65 mg/g, 1,58-55,9 mg/g, 1,01-20,02 mg/g, e <0,18-3,17 mg/g, respectivamente. Também foram determinados parâmetros de otimização da metodologia e os resultados encontrados de minerais foram comparados com os valores de Ingestão Diária Recomendada (IDR) / Abstract: Honey is one of the oldest known food for mankind, and that its therapeutic properties were already described since antiquity. It is produced by honey bees from the nectar of flowers or other secretions plant, which is turned, combined with salivates enzymes, stored and mature honeycombs in the hives. The elements essential minerals are divided between macro (calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, chloride, magnesium, sulfur) and microelements (iron, copper, zinc, cobalt, manganese, iodine, fluorine, selenium, chromium, silicon), according to the quantities, more or less where they are found in the human body. Chemically, it is a complex matrix, composed of water, glucose, fructose, sucrose, ash, acids, grains of pollen, particles of wax, proteins, pigments, alcohols, amino acids, dextrin, enzymes, volatile compounds, vitamins and minerals. The composition depends on the origin and composition of nectar, and the concentration of minerals typically ranges from 0.1 to 1.0%. It is an analytical challenge to determine metals in foods high in sugar, due to the interference of the matrix. The most common technique of atomic absorption spectrometry is to spray a flame, which was used in this work. When there are sample, the atomic vapors absorbs part of resonant radiation emitted by the source, which is demonstrated by the weakening of the color of the beam that passes through the flame. This process is related to the concentration of the analyte to be determined. This is a notable analytical technique for its selectivity, speed, low operational cost, simplicity and stability. This study aimed to determine values of calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium, sodium and zinc. The amounts found ranged from 1,91-4,52 mg / g <0,35-1,04 mg / g, 1,00-3,66 mg / g, traces of magnesium (<0.1 mg / g), 0,24-4,65 mg / g 1,58-55,9 mg / g 1,01-20,02 mg / g, and <0,18-3,17 mg / g, respectively. They also were certain parameters to optimize the methodology and results of minerals were compared with the values of Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) / Mestrado / Mestre em Ciência de Alimentos