Auger electron spectroscopy has been used in this study to determine common impurities found on the transition metals Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Fe, Co, Ni, Y, Zr, Nb, Mo, Ru, Rh, La, Hf, Ta, W, Re, Ir, Pt, and Au. Single crystal and polycrystal specimens were used, with both specimen types giving similar results. The most prevalent impurity on most of these surfaces is not carbon as had been previously supposed but rather is sulfur. Mild heat treatment causes sulfur to segregate at the surfaces of these materials, while more drastic heating, to 1000 °C or greater, will normally remove all the sulfur. Clean Mo surfaces exhibit a peak in the Auger spectrum at 150 V, the location of the sulfur peak, but arguments are given to suggest that this peak is characteristic of the clean rather than the contaminated surface. Observations of chemical shifts in Auger spectra have been made and are also discussed.