Precision and accuracy control in the determination of heavy metals by atomic absorption spectrometry

Many metals can be determined by direct aspiration of samples into an air‐acetylene flame in Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS). The precision and accuracy of environmental samples analysed by AAS technique depends on the different factors. The capability of AAS can be well defined by considering its performance characteristic, detection limit, accuracy and precision. The analytical performance of AAS can be evaluated by drawing quality control charts, which defines whether the analysis can continue or stop. The paper discusses the evaluation characteristic of AAS used for detection of low level concentration and its trend for detection.