Determining the Arsenic and Cadmium Level in the Consuming Water in Yazd by Optimized Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy

Having knowledge of the existence of poisonous elements such as Arsenic and Cadmium in consuming water, especially drinking water, has been the point of attention of the health organizations and researchers. The allowed amount of arsenic and cadmium is 10 and 5 ug/l respectively. A small increase in the amount of these elements is considered to be the cause of carcinoma of the bladder, kidneys and skin as well as cardiovascular diseases. There are several methods for measuring these elements in water. The purpose of this study was to optimize the temperature parameters of furnace atomic absorption and to determine the Arsenic and Cadmium levels in the consuming water in Yazd by this optimized procedure. Twenty different samples of water were collected from drinking water and industrial network during the summer 2007. Eight water samples from the beginning of drinking water network, four from the and of drinking network and another from industrial consuming water were collected. The samples were promptly taken to the laboratory and their PH was fixed to less than 3 for the possibility of later measurement. Atomic absorption equipped with graphite furnace, in which standard solutions were put, was calibrated. A modifier was added to any element and then drying, ashing, atomizing and measuring the temperature for each element was optimized. Concentration of elements was carried out by optimized parameters. Optimized temperatures of arsenic and Cadmium were 1400 and 2600 degree of centigrade. Arsenic and Cadmium averages for drinking water network were2.88±0.91and3.35 ±0.79 ug/l respectively. These for consuming water were 6.67 ±1.32 and 7.21 ±1.02 ug/l, respectively. According to this study, the amount of Arsenic and Cadmium present in Yazd drinking water was less that of maximum allowed but it is a little higher in industrial water. The amount of these elements was added during the distribution but the concentration was less than 10 ug/l and in comparison with other types of water it showed to be at the level of fresh water. Also graphite furnace atomic absorption with these optimized parameters had high accuracy for analyzing Arsenic and Cadmium in consuming water. So, it is recommended that these parameters when optimized be used in the water and wastewater chemical laboratory.