Determination of nickel in urine with graphite furnace AAS using Zeeman correction

We have developed a rapid and direct method for determining urine nickel. The urine specimen is diluted (1 + 1) with 2.0% v/v nitric acid and 0.001% v/v Triton X-100 and absorbance measurements are made with Zeeman-effect graphite furnace atomic absorption. The method is sensitive enough to be used to evaluate "normal" subjects for baseline studies or to evaluate environmental or other nonoccupational exposure to nickel. The characteristic mass (pg/0.0044A.s) is 26 pg, which is comparable to that obtained for aqueous solutions. The observed absorbance is linear up to about 100 micrograms l-1, after which the calibration curve departs from linearity. Procedures are described to rigorously exclude nickel contamination. We evaluated precision and accuracy with a U.S. National Bureau of Standards urine reference material. SRM 2670, with an informational nickel value of 70 micrograms l-1, and with a multielement water reference material, SRM 1643b, with a certified nickel value of 49 ng g-1. Within- and among-run standard deviations for SRM 2670 were calculated to be 9.0 and 2.45 micrograms l-1, respectively, and 2.1 and 1.1 micrograms l-1 for SRM 1643b. The detection limit, calculated as 3 SD of a "low" concentration urine, is about 1.1 micrograms l-1. The proposed method was applied to the determination of nickel in urine of 258 workers in a magnet manufacturing plant, and the data obtained support the usefulness of urine nickel for biological monitoring.