In order to request the analysis of a sample by ICP, you must contact the staff responsible for the equipment.

In the event that you wish analyse using ICP, the applicant must inform about the toxicity and dangerousness of the sample and storage precautions.

Conditions of delivery of the sample:

The samples must be delivered in suitable containers to preserve their integrity and indicating if any special conservation conditions are required before analysis.The sample introduction system for either ICP is by nebulisation, which means that only liquid samples can be analysed.The recommended minimum amount is 10-15 mL.

In the event that the sample is a solid, or because the type of matrix makes it necessary, the Services have a microwave digestion equipment to perform a complete digestion of the sample.

Once the analysis results have been delivered, the surplus sample is kept at the STR facilities, stored under the agreed conditions, for a maximum period of 3 months, after which it is destroyed in an appropriate manner.

The liquid sample is introduced in the form of an aerosol into the Argó plasma area, at temperatures that can reach 8000 K, causing the elements present in the sample to become energised and ionised.

This part is common to both pieces of equipment.

With the ICP-OES equipment, the radiation emitted by the energised atoms is measured, with the detection of wavelengths between 167 and 785 nm.In the case of ICP-MS, the mass/charge ratio of the ions generated in the plasma is measured.

Both techniques reach trace detection limits (in some cases, depending on the element, ultra-traces can be measured).However, one or the other equipment is chosen depending on the element, the expected concentrations, the possible interferents present in the sample and the matrix with which it is being worked.

Participation in this rehearsal is a way of measuring the quality of the results through an external evaluation.

Around 15 laboratories on an international scale usually participate.It consists of the analysis of two samples of continental waters, giving results of the contents of different elements: Al, Fe, Mn, Cd, Pb, Cu, Ni and Zn (ICP-MS) and Ca, Mg, Na, K (ICP-OES).

The Services have been participating since 2005, always obtaining satisfactory results.

The determination of the content of metals and other elements is a point of wide application in chemical analysis.That is why the fields of interest for this technique are very large.

• The study can be of drinking water, waste water, fresh or marine water.
• The study of soils and sediments to assess, for example, the degree of contamination of agricultural land or mining areas, both active and disused.
• Evaluation of the quality of ecosystems with the presence and concentration level of metals in algae, fish tissues or molluscs.
• Characterisation of raw materials, quality assurance of finished products.