Arsenic and antimony determination in refined and unrefined table salts by means of hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry–comparison of sample decomposition and determination methods

An evaluation was made of different digestion methods for the determination of arsenic and antimony in table salt samples prior to hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometric analysis. Microwave acid digestion, classical wet digestion, dry ashing, and fusion were applied to the decomposition of salt samples and optimum conditions were investigated. Samples were decomposed by changing heating time, digestion techniques, and the amount and composition of acid, and then the concentrations of arsenic and antimony in an unrefined salt sample were measured. It is concluded that microwave acid digestion decomposes salt samples with a very short heating time and with small amounts of reagents compared with the classical wet digestion methods, which require several hours for the heating step and several milliliters of reagents. The accuracy of the procedure was checked using pond sediment certified reference material. The proposed procedure was applied for the determination of arsenic and antimony in several table salt samples collected in İzmir, Turkey, and the arsenic contents in the samples were found to be below the maximum permissible limits. Microwave digestion in combination with hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry could be used routinely to monitor these metals in table salt samples.