The goal of this research is to develop a low-cost, reliable blood-Pb analyzer. The device will be a dedicated tungsten coil atomic absorption spectrometer. The atomizer will be the filament extracted from normal projector bulbs. A low cost, multi-channel charge coupled device will be the detector. Background correction will be performed by the near-line method. The finished instrument will meet or exceed the CDC's requirements for such a system. A detection limit less than 1 mg/dL for Pb in blood; a sample volume requirement less than 50 mL; an analysis time less than 2 minutes per sample; precision better than 5% RSD; accuracy greater than 95%; an automated system with the option of a manually controlled unit for portable applications; instrument and consumable costs competitive with existing technology; minimal operator training requirements. While these objectives may be unachievable if a wide variety of elements need to be determined in an array of different sample matrices, they become realistic when only a single element (Pb) must be determined repetitively in a single sample type (blood). The instrument will therefore be designed and optimized to perform the specific task required in this important application.
