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Rapid Screening of Heavy Metals and Trace Elements in Environmental Samples Using Portable X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometer, A Comparative Study

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Abstract

With industrialization, great amounts of trace elements and heavy metals have been excavated and released onto the surface of the earth and dissipated into the environments. Rapid screening technology for detecting major and trace elements as well as heavy metals in variety of environmental samples has been most desired. The objectives of this study were to determine the detection limits, accuracy, repeatability, and efficiency of an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (Niton XRF analyzer) in comparison to the traditional analytical methods, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES) in screening of major and trace elements of environmental samples including estuary soils and sediments, contaminated soils, and biological samples. XRF is a fast and non-destructive method for measuring the total concentration of multi-elements simultaneously. Contrary to ICP-OES, XRF analyzer is characterized by the limited preparation required for solid samples, non-destructive analysis, increased total speed and high throughout, decreased production of hazardous waste, and low running costs as well as multi-elemental determination and portability in the fields. The current comparative study demonstrates that XRF is a good rapid, non-destructive screening method for contaminated soils, sediments, and biological samples containing high concentrations of major and trace elements. Unfortunately, XRF does not have sensitive detection limits for most trace elements as ICP-OES, but it may serve as a rapid screening tool for locating hot spots in uncontaminated field soils and sediments, such as in the US Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge site.

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Acknowledgment

This research was supported by US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC–HQ-12-G-38-0038), NOAA-ECSC grant (NA11SEC4810001), and NIH-RCMI grant (G12MD007581).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Interdisciplinary Environmental Science Ph.D. Program, Jackson State University, 1400 J.R. Lynch Street, Jackson, MS, 39217, USA

    Jacqueline Q. McComb, Christian Rogers & Paul B. Tchounwou

  2. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Interdisciplinary Environmental Science Ph.D. Program, Jackson State University, 1400 J.R. Lynch Street, Jackson, MS, 39217, USA

    Fengxiang X. Han

Authors
  1. Jacqueline Q. McComb
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  2. Christian Rogers
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  3. Fengxiang X. Han
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  4. Paul B. Tchounwou
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Correspondence to Fengxiang X. Han.

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McComb, J.Q., Rogers, C., Han, F.X. et al. Rapid Screening of Heavy Metals and Trace Elements in Environmental Samples Using Portable X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometer, A Comparative Study. Water Air Soil Pollut 225, 2169 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-014-2169-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-014-2169-5

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