Recent development of speciation analysis for trace arsenic

The present paper summarizes recent development in the measurements of trace arsenic element, including six aspects such as spectrophotometry, atomic adsorption spectrometry, hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry, inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, united detection of chromatography-atomic characteristic and so on. The basic characteristics and application fields of each method are introduced. The advantages and disadvantages of different methods are discussed. It is pointed out that great progress has been made for the measurements of trace arsenic element in the past decades, but studies on speciation analysis of trace arsenic are still limited. For various speciation of trace arsenic in nature, how to find and develop various efficient, selective separation and analysis technologies is one of the most important problems to be considered. More attention should be paid to the united application of different modem analysis technologies for trace arsenic.