A direct reading spectrometer for the determination of beryllium in site liquid effluent.

Abstract

This report describes a single channel direct reading spectrometer for the determination of beryllium in liquid effluent samples from delay tanks on the site of the Australian Atomic Energy Commission's Research Establishment. The rotating disc technique with pulsed arc excitation is used to determine beryllium down to 0.1 p.p.m. The limit of detection is 0.01 p.p.m. and the coefficient of variation at the 0.1 p.p.m. level is + 20 per cent for a 95 per cent confidence level. The beryllium intensity is depressed by the presence of other constituents in the effluent. Calibration is therefore carried out with standards prepared from a composite effluent solution which yields a similar depression of the beryllium intensity. The results are biased for different tanks and range from + 20 per cent to - 10 per cent. The nature of the depression of the beryllium intensity has been studied in relation to the interference effects of foreign anions and cations and the sensitivity of the method is shown to be affected by pH and by the grade of graphite discs used.