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Improved lead isotope ratio measurements in environmental and biological samples with a double focussing magnetic sector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS )† R. Gwiazda,*ab D. Woolarda and D. Smitha aEnvironmental Toxicology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA. E-mail:
[email protected] bInstitute of Marine Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
Downloaded on 09 March 2013 Published on 01 January 1998 on http://pubs.rsc.org | doi:10.1039/A804062A
Received 1st June 1998, Accepted 7th September 1998 A method to measure lead (Pb) isotope ratios in biological and environmental samples using a single collector double focussing magnetic sector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS ) is presented. This method is intercalibrated with multicollector thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) to assess the suitability of the ICP-MS method for accurately and precisely identifying sources of environmental Pb exposure to humans. Results indicate that the external measurement precision (reproducibility) of this method, as evaluated by repeated analyses of the Pb isotope standard NBS 981 over the course of a year, was