Determination of inorganic beryllium species in the particulate matter of emissions and working areas

A sequential extraction procedure for separating and determining Be(0), soluble Be(II) inorganic compounds, BeO and beryllium silicates in samples such as particulate matter of emissions and working areas, has been developed. The proposed procedure has been tested on synthetic samples prepared with the inorganic beryllium compounds, in the presence of atmospherical particulate matter sampled in a laboratory of the Department, previously checked for the absence of beryllium. The speciation was then repeated on a sample of fly ash deriving from a solid waste incinerator and on a reference material (Coal Fly ash SRM 1633a, by NIST), followed by an evaluation of matrix spiking and recovery analyses. Performing multiple analyses of the spiked samples assessed the repeatability of the procedure. Quantitative determinations have been made by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS). The possible interferences of the most common ions have been investigated. The selective sequential extractions allow one to separate and to determine different inorganic beryllium species, to which a different toxicity and therefore, a different risk are related: it is the case for example of metallic beryllium and beryllium oxide.