CEN/TC 264/WG 20 - Air quality - Deposition measurements of heavy metals

This European Standard specifies three methods for the determination of deposition of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd) nickel (Ni) and lead (Pb), that can be used in the framework of the European Council Directive on Ambient Air Quality Assessment and Management [1] and the 4th Air Quality Daughter Directive [2]. This European Standard specifies performance requirements with which the method has to comply in order to meet the data quality objectives given in the Directives. The performance characteristics of the method were determined in comparative field validation tests carried out at four European locations [3].
This European Standard specifies methods for sampling wet-only and bulk deposition of As, Cd, Ni and Pb, sample treatment and analysis by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GF-AAS) or by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).
The method is applicable for deposition measurements in
a)   rural and remote areas;
b)   industrial areas;
c)   urban areas.
The standard is validated for the working ranges listed in Table 1.
Table 1 - Validated working ranges for the methods
                Lower limit (µg/m² day)  Upper limit (µg/m² day)
As   0,05                         2
Cd   0,01                         1
Ni   0,05                         25
Pb   0,1                         65
NOTE   The ranges given are based upon the values measured in the field validation test. The upper and lower limits are the observed minimum and maximum values measured during the field validation tests. The actual lower limits of the working ranges depend on the variability of the laboratory blank and the precipitation amount range in bulk and wet-only.