THERMO Scientific | Fast and cost-effective assessment of water quality for DIN EN ISO 11885:2009 method

Even in small quantities, many elements can have toxic effects when present in drinking supplies or food chains. As such, monitoring the trace elemental composition of drinking, waste, and surface waters (such as rivers, lakes, and ponds) is vital in the maintenance of human, animal, and environmental health. Toxic elements in water, even in small quantities, may end up in the food chain if present in surface waters. Therefore, it is vital that water bodies and drinking waters are regularly checked for their trace elemental composition.
The approach adopted by many nations to ensure water quality is to work to a set of standard guidelines published by a national body. One such body is the Deutsches Institut für Normung – DIN (German Institute for Standardisation), which is the German member body of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and is responsible for setting and defining technical standards. ISO sets standards internationally and one such standard, vital for human and environmental health, is the method specified in DIN EN ISO 11885:2009 Water quality – Determination of selected elements by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry.
The DIN EN ISO 11885:2009 method contains performance guidelines and recommends the use of inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) as the analytical instrumentation of choice for assessing both major and trace elements in water samples. ICP-OES instruments are particularly well suited for this analysis as they can effectively perform rapid, low level multielement measurements in a single analytical method (compared to single element techniques such as AAS). However, a common challenge for environmental laboratories analyzing large sample numbers each day is optimizing sample throughput without compromising the sensitivity and productivity, while providing high accuracy, precision, and low limits of detection for key elements.
In this application note, an analytical method using a Thermo Scientific™ iCAP™ PRO Series ICP-OES was developed and validated using multiple systems and various types of waters samples. This study follows the guidelines provided in the DIN EN ISO 11885:2009 method exactly.

Read the detailed application note.