Determination of soluble and insoluble nickel compounds in airborne particulate matter by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.

An extraction procedure for the determination of soluble and insoluble nickel and its compounds in ambient air dust was investigated employing a special device for the generation of test aerosols and using water-soluble NiCl2, partly water-soluble NiCO3 and water-insoluble NiO as model compounds. Additionally, results of the separation and determination of different nickel species down to some ng/m3 in ambient aerosols are discussed. The extraction was carried out with a solution containing 0.01 mol/L EDTA in order to determine partly water-soluble compounds such as NiCO3 and water-soluble, non-toxic nickel compounds in one step. Airborne dust was sampled on filters at locations close to two metallurgical plants in Northrhine-Westphalia (Germany), and first results on the nickel concentration (mean (median) values over a period of 4 months: 8.6+/-6.5 ng/m3 (6.7 ng/m3) and 27.7+/-36 ng/m3 (10.8 ng/m3), respectively) in the collected dust are presented. For EDTA-soluble nickel compounds the maximum and mean fractions of total nickel were found to be 77.1% and 18.6+/-12%, respectively.