Determination of cadmium and lead in plastic material from waste electronic equipment using solid sampling graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

The European initiatives to minimize waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE) and the restriction of hazardous substances (RoHS) had a major impact on the routine control of hazardous substances, including toxic trace metals, such as cadmium and lead, in all kinds of materials that are used in electric and electronic equipment. Instead of analyzing a whole computer, cell phone or television set, individual parts are normally investigated in order to simplify the analytical task. Plastic components are important constituents of electronic equipment, and a potential source of toxic trace metals that are added as catalysts, stabilizers or colorants. As high-tech plastic materials are designed to be resistant against chemical attack, they are usually difficult to bring into solution. A procedure is proposed in the present work that uses direct solid sampling graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry and calibration against aqueous standards. The method is sensitive, fast, and it does not require any sample preparation. The limits of detection of 0.1 mg kg− 1 for Cd and 0.6 mg kg− 1 for Pb are more than adequate for the purpose. Additional means are presented for reducing the sensitivity in order to cope with high analyte concentration. The method has been tested analyzing two certified reference materials, and good agreement with certified values has been obtained.