Drinking Water Engineering and Science Discussions www.drink-water-eng-sci-discuss.net 1996-9473 1996-9481 1 2 2008 10.5194/dwesd-1-135-2008 http://www.drink-water-eng-sci-discuss.net/1/135/2008/ http://www.drink-water-eng-sci-discuss.net/1/135/2008/dwesd-1-135-2008.html http://www.drink-water-eng-sci-discuss.net/1/135/2008/dwesd-1-135-2008.pdf 135 154 2008-08-22 Method development for arsenic analysis by modification in spectrphotometric technique M. A. Tahir matahir2k@hotmail.com H. Rasheed A. Malana National Water Quality Laboratory, Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources, Kheyaban-e-Johar, H-8/1, Islamabad, Pakistan Department of Chemistry, Bahawuddin Zikriya University, Multan, Pakistan Arsenic is a non-metallic constituent, present naturally in groundwater due to some minerals and rocks. Arsenic is not geologically uncommon and occurs in natural water as arsenate and arsenite. Additionally, arsenic may occur from industrial discharges or insecticide application. World Health Organization (WHO) and Pakistan Standard Quality Control Authority have recommended a permissible limit of 10 ppb for arsenic in drinking water. The arsenic at lower concentrations can be determined in water by using high tech instruments like Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (hydride generation). The arsenic concentration at low limits of 1 ppb could not be determined easily with simple spectrophotometric technique. Therefore, Spectrphotometric technique using the silver diethyldithiocarbamate was modified to achieve the better results, up to the extent of 1 ppb arsenic concentration. Andreae, M. O.: Determination of arsenic species in natural waters, Anal. Chem., 49, 820–825. APHA, AWWA and WEF: Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, 13th Edition, American Public Health Association, American Water Works Association and Water Environment Federation, Washington, DC, 62–66, 1971. APHA, AWWA and WEF: Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, 18th Edition, American Public Health Association, American Water Works Association and Water Environment Federation, Washington, DC, 3–50, 1992. Calvert, C. C.: Arsenicals in animal feeds and wastes, in: Arsenical Pesticides, edited by: Woolson, E. A., Washington, DC, American Chemical Society (ACS Symp. Series No 7), 1975. Carapella, S. C.: Arsenic and compounds, in: The encyclopedia of chemistry, edited by: Hampel, C. A. and Hawley, G. G., 3rd Edition, New York, Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1973. Christian, G. D. and Feldman, F. J.: Atomic absorption spectroscopy; Applications in agriculture, biology, and medicine, New York, Wiley-Interscience, 188–195, 1970. Chu, R. C., Barron, G. P., and Baumgarner, P. A.: Arsenic determination at sub-microgram levels by arsine evolution and flameless atomic absorption spectrophotometric technique, Anal. Chem., 44, 1476–1479, 1972. Clement, W. H. and Faust, S. D.: A new convenient method for determining arsenic (+3) in natural waters, Environ. Lett, 5, 155–164, 1973. Fishman, M. and Spencer, R.: Automated atomic absorption spectrometric determination of total arsenic in water and streambed materials, Anal. Chem., 49, 1599–1602, 1977. Guha Mazumder, D. N., Chakraborty, A. K., and Ghose, A.: Chronic arsenic toxicity from drinking tubewell water in rural West Bengal, Bull. World Health Org., 66, 499–506, 1988. Michael, J. S.: Examination of water for pollution control, Vol. 2, 1st Edition, World Health Organization, 179–186, 1982. Palmer, P. T.: A Review of Analytical Methods for the Determination of Mercury, Arsenic and Pesticides Residues on Museum Object, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California, Collection Forum, 16(1–2), 25–41, 2001. USEPA: Arsenic in Drinking Water: Analytical Methods, US Environmental Protection Agency, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, 1999. USEPA: List of Drinking Water Contaminants & MCLS.EPA 816-F03-D, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, 2003.