JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL ATOMIC SPECTROMETRY. OCTOBER 1986. VOL. 1 317 Conference Reports 10th Czechoslovak AAS Seminar: June 7th-12th 1986, Lipno Lake, South Bohemia Perhaps it can be attributed to the such diverse industries in which AAS can be utilised that it has become such a wides- pread analytical technique in Czechoslo- vakia. Analyses using AAS are perfor- med in heavy and light industries as well as in glass manufacture, ore mining, ceramics, chemical and pharmaceutical production, crude oil refineries, food- stuffs, health care and environmental monitoring. All these facets were reflec- ted by the 10th AAS Seminar, organised by the Czechoslovak Spectroscopic Society in June 1986 at Lipno Lake in South Bohemia. Amongst the 150 partici- pants (one third of whom gave an oral or poster presentation) were guests from GDR, Sweden, the UK and Bulgaria. The majority of the contributions were devoted to ETA-AAS problems, con- cerning: the Czechoslovak produced tungsten atomiser WETA, temperature distribution within the atomiser, Cu and Cd atomisation mechanisms in the presence of chelating agents and organic solvents, Zr and Hf atomisation and the WETA tungsten platform; applications of platform techniques in ETA-AAS and the use of the so called miniplatform effect in the analysis of samples with an organic matrix; matrix modifiers in ETA; the determination of trace elements in biolog- ical samples, determination of As in pure chemicals, determination of Ni(C0)4 in air and cigarette smoke, determination of Cu, Cd and Pb in snow, determination of Pb in human hair of people testing fire arms; and background correction with the Zeeman effect.A number of papers dealt with ICP- AES. Apart from lectures summarising the current state of the art of the method and instrumentation, practical applica- tions on the matrix effects of HN03, HC1 and H2S04 on Ni, Fe, Co, Cr, Cu and V determinations, analysis of mineral water, analysis of ferroalloys and a com- parison of the statistical distribution of data from AAS and ICP were also repor- ted. Attention was being paid to the treat- tations at this meeting covered calibration and blank measurements, statistical eval- uation of small sets of data and data validity testing. An additional paper dis- cussed the use of the theory of graphs in analytical chemistry, depicting the possi- bilities of objective evaluation of analy- tical techniques using value analysis.A report on the Czechoslovak pro- duced Trace Mercury Analyser TMA 254 was another welcome presentation. This device is intended to carry out fully Neil Barnett and Vaclav Sychra attempting .some Parlv morning fishing at L i m o Lake ment of data in trace analysis and presen- _ _ - - , " J " 2318 JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL ATOMIC SPECTROMETRY, OCTOBER 1986, VOL. 1 automatic mercury determinations in solid, liquid or even gaseous samples without any special sample pre-treat- ment. It is apparent from practical results that the sensitivity of the determination, according to the particular matrix and expressed as characteristic mass, is 0.2- 0.4 ng of mercury.The second generation TMA 254 is equipped with an improved amalgamator and software module. Another interesting paper was on sor- bent extractors, analytically active agents absorbed on various column packings, such as cellulose, glass, alumina and organic sorbents. A paper on the indirect determination of organic substances was also of note. The scientific programme was enhan- ced by the following foreign contribu- tions: N. W. Barnett, Sample Introduc- tion into the MIP; K. Dittrich, Trace Analysis of Metals and Nonmetals by Non-thermal Excitation Spectrometry using Carbon Tube Atomisers; W . Frech, et al., Graphite Furnace AAS Research Directions at the University of Umea; K. Niebergall et al., Trace Analysis of Rare Earth Elements by ICP-AES and ETA- AAS; and A.Petrakiev et al., Hybrid Atomiser and its Application in AAS. The evening discussion on ICP-AES problems can be described as spon- taneous. The event was attended by experienced AAS specialists who are broadening the activities of their labora- tories with this analytical technique for a variety of reasons. The discussion was led by Professor E. PlSko (Komensky University of Bratislava) and was stimu- lated by brief but lively comments from Neil Barnett. The social side of the Czechoslovak. AAS seminars has developed into a mat- ter of tradition. Two evening dances were organised, one with a camp fire and the barbecueing of sausages (perhaps as a substitute for the declining interest in flame AAS among participants), two disco parties and last but not least a half day tour of the nearby beautiful surround- ings.Satisfaction and appreciation of all who took part were expressed to the organis- ing committee headed by Mrs D. Koli- hova, Chairman of the AAS Group, and Dr. V. Sychra, Chairman of atomic sec- tion of the Czechoslovak Spectroscopic Society. The 5th AAS Conference will be organ- ised in 1987 at Chlum u Tiebong, again in South Bohemia. In contrast with the previous seminars the programme will contain more theoretical subjects. Several foreign scientists have already applied to present their papers at next year’s meet- ing and we look forward to yet another highly successful event. Milan Fara Czechoslovak Spectroscopic Society SAC ‘86/3rd BNASS: July 20th=26th, 1986, University of Bristol, UK The Biennial National Atomic Spectro- scopy Symposium (BNASS) is organised by the Atomic Spectroscopy Group of the Analytical Division of the RSC and the Spectroscopy Group of the Institute of Physics as a joint meeting.Bristol Univer- sity was the venue for the third meeting in this series, which was, on this occasion, run in conjunction with the Seventh Society for Analytical Chemistry (SAC) conference, which occurs every third year. The SAC meeting began on Monday 21st, July with a three lecture stream format. Plenaries by Professor J. H. Knox (University of Edinburgh) and Professor M. B. Denton (University of Arizona) opened the first two days with enlighten- ing lectures into “Recent Advances in Dr. E . J . Newman (Chairman of 3rd BNASS Organising Committee) at the BNASS opening ceremony High Performance Liquid Chrornato- graphy” (Monday) and “Concepts for Improved Automated Laboratory Pro- ductivity” (Tuesday), respectively.Traditionally the Wednesday of the week-long SAC conference is given over to social events and a break from the intensity of the lecture programme. This year however saw Wednesday as perhaps being the most difficult and hectic day for the organising committees. It contained not only the usual social events, but also four Update Courses, the 3rd BNASS registration, opening ceremony and open- ing lecture, together with the first of the BNASS poster sessions. Credit must be given to the people involved in the organi- sation of this complex mixture of events. Each event ran virtually without problems and with precision.timing which allowed delegates to move from one event to another as they wished.The SAC Update Courses were well attended covering four varied and interesting areas, which were as follows: Recent Advances in Electrothermal Atomisation (Professor J. M. Ottaway, University of Strathclyde); Diode Array Detectors (Professor A. F. Fell, Univer- sity of Bradford); Ion Chromatography (Dr. M. Cooke, Bristol University and Dr. P. Jones, Plymouth Polytechnic); Robotics and Microprocessors for the Analytical Laboratory (Dr. J. Huddles- ton, AERE Harwell and Dr. J. Newbury, Open University). Dr. E. J. Newman (Chairman of the 3rd BNASS Organising Committee) opened the 3rd BNASS part of the conference, and Dr. W. J. Price intro- duced Professor Leo de Galan (Tech- nische Hogeschool Delft, The Nether- lands) who gave an extremely well presen- ted and skilfully prepared opening lec- ture, the Association of British Spectro- scopists’ Lecture.It made those suffering from midweek lethargy after two days of lectures feel that BNASS had really star- ted and was not just a continuation of the SAC programme. Wearing his physicist’s hat, Professor de Galan delivered a lec- ture entitled “A Physicist’s Appraisal of Recent Developments in Atomic Spec- trometry.” The lecture had a sharp edge highlighting weaknesses in almost the Professor L. de Galan defivering the Associa- tion of British Spectroscopists’ LectureJOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL ATOMIC SPECTROMETRY, OCTOBER 1986, VOL. 1 319 Presentation of the prize for the best poster of the Wednesday session to S .T. Sparkes whole spectrum of atomic spectrometric techniques. This caused a great many of the large audience to come alive ready to defend their own particular field of interest. After the opening lecture the whole conference seemed to have shifted into a higher gear which was immediately noticeable in the very well attended pos- ter session that followed. The poster session (aided by some refreshments courtesy of Applied Research Labora- tories and Chelsea Instruments) was a great success with a great deal of lively discussion and in-depth questioning of the 30 authors. There was also the presenta- tion, by Professor de Galan, of a prize (donated by the Organising Committee) to the author of what was judged to be the best poster, which was well spent by the author, S.T. Sparkes, Plymouth Poly- technic, in furthering the course of science in the hall of residence bar. The BNASS and SAC lecture pro- grammes for Thursday and Friday consis- ted of four streams running simul- taneously, two streams for each. Careful control of timing in each stream by the chairmen allowed delegates to change readily from one stream to another, the organisers having wisely allowed five minutes changeover time between each lecture. Delegates were in fact spoilt for choice by the extremely high level of presentations and some felt that they would have liked to hear more of the papers than was possible. Thursday started with the sad news that Professor Boris L’vov would not be present to give his Plenary Lecture. There was a general feeling of disappointment that this outstanding scientist was unable to attend the conference.This was some- what reduced by the announcement that Professor L’vov has been invited to attend a special meeting being arranged by the Atomic Spectroscopy Group of the Analytical Division of the RSC at Strathclyde University in October. The organising committee excelled itself in filling this Plenary Lecture slot at short notice with another scientist of interna- tional reputation, Professor Jean-Michel Mermet (Universite Claude Bernard, Lyon, France). His lecture entitled “Mixed Gas or Air ICPs: Toys or Tools” was very well received and delegates were grateful to Professor Mermet for inter- rupting his family holiday to attend the conference. The lecture was an enlighten- ing insight into the practical and theoret- ical considerations of several unusual types of lCPs which many people had not seen before.Professor Mermet also stayed for the remainder of Thursday and chaired one of the BNASS sessions. The categories for each of the BNASS lecture sessions for Thursday were: Elec- trothermal Atomisation, Non-thermal Excitation and Background Correction, Fourier Transform Atomic Spectroscopy and Emission Spectroscopy. Each session consisted of an invited speaker together with three contributed papers in the morning sessions and four in the after- noon. Of particular note on Thursday morning was the invited paper presented by Dr. Anne Thorne (Imperial College) entitled “Fourier Transform Atomic Spectroscopy,” this paper perhaps high- lighting the great deal of interest amongst the atomic spectroscopy community in this design of spectrometer even if its present cost makes it unavailable to most workers.Dr. Thorne described the very high resolving power of the spectrometer, which, together with its large light throughput and ability to observe all the spectral elements within a selected band- pass simultaneously, are the reasons why it has aroused such a great deal of interest. Two papers presented on Thursday Professor J . M. Merrnet delivering his Plenary Lecture afternoon are perhaps worth particular mention. The first being the invited lec- ture by Dr. Richard Snook (Chelsea Instruments) on “Torch Configurations and Designs for Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry.” The first part of his lecture was a discus- sion on viewing an ICP discharge axially rather than from the side and some of the advantages and disadvantages involved. Secondly, he described the design for a laminar flow torch, which has created enough interest for at least one manufac- turer to be producing a commercial ver- sion.This design generates less noise than the traditional tangential flow designs and perhaps offers some improvement in lim- Dr. V. Sychra (left) and Dr. K . Dittrich enjoying the Cider and Cheese evening at the end of the Conference its of detection. The second paper was presented by Dr. David Littlejohn (Strathclyde University) on “Furnace Atomic Non-thermal Emission Source.” This fairly recent development in generat- ing a low-pressure argon or helium disc- harge within a conventional graphite fur- nace using the graphite tube as a cathode is creating considerable interest.It allows electrothermal atomisers to be used in a multi-element fashion without loss of sensitivity compared with single-element absorption measurements. This is a goal that many workers have been striving to reach for several years in order to make the most of what is often considered to be a rather slow technique. Friday started with the Plenary Lecture given by Professor G. Tolg (Institut fur Spektrochemie, Dortmund, FRG) on the subject of “Extreme Trace Analysis of the Elements-The State of the Art Today320 JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL ATOMIC SPECTROMETRY, OCTOBER 1986, VOL. 1 ICP-MS exponents: L to R, Dr.R. C . Hutton, Dr. Y. Y. Cheung, Dr. A . L. Gray, Dr. A . R. Date, J . G . Williams and G. E. M. Hall Some of the transatlantic delegates: L to R, C. A . Monnig (recipient of the first Gordon F. Kirkbright Bursary), Professor K . W. Jackson, Dr. J . M. Harnly and Dr. C . B. Boss and Tomorrow.” The Friday BNASS sessions were entitled: Nebulisers and Sample Introduction, ICP-MS, X-ray Techniques and Applications of Atomic Spectroscopy. The Nebulisers and Sam- ple Introduction session was particularly well attended with the lecture theatre being full to capacity for all four presenta- tions. Interestingly, the subject of slurry introduction into electrothermal ato- misers and plasmas had been mentioned several times during the conference and during this session three of the four papers were devoted to analysis by a slurry technique.These papers were also subject to much discussion and many questions showing perhaps the rising interest within the analytical community in this technique. The afternoon session on ICP-MS was also very well attended showing the continuing interest in this growing area. When the conference finally closed on Friday afternoon there was a general good natured feeling amongst the delegates which reflected the very high standard of scientific programme and organisation that they had enjoyed. The combined meeting attracted approximately 450 delegates, from at least 42 different coun- tries giving the meeting a truly interna- tional feel. There were also many young scientists and students several of whom gave excellent presentations at their first major conference.Despite all the jokes about the quality and quantity of the food provided at the conference everyone survived and the 3rd Biennial National Atomic Spectroscopy Symposium had been a great success. Philip Norman Plymouth Polytechnic, UK ASU Highlights Atomic spectrometric analysis may be regarded as a mature area of analytical chemistry, but there is no sign of abate- ment in the effort devoted to its further development. Comments in this review addressed to arc and flame spectrometry note the lack of significant developments of general interest, but in electrothermal atomisation and plasma spectrometry important advances continue to be re- ported. The success of the annular plasma geometry of the ICP has caused users of arc sources to seek electrode configura- tions that produce plasmas having a non- current carrying channel where the sam- ple may be introduced.Similar develop- ments have occurred in microwave plas- mas where torch designs to produce annular and recirculatory plasmas have been described. Microwave plasmas are most widely used as detectors for GC, but electron impact induced fluorescence has also been proposed as a means of spectro- scopic excitation. The universal provision of computing facilities on analytical instruments has resulted in the use of increasingly sophisticated data treat- ments. This trend is acknowledged in this year’s review with both the flame and plasma reports including sections devoted to chemometrics. Hydride generation continues to be widely used, but other forms of chemical vapour generation including the use of volatile chlorides, carbonyls and sulphides have also been reported.Research activity on electro- thermal vaporisation remains at a high level with considerable effort being devoted to the achievement of isothermal atomisation. Various devices including platforms, probes, tube in tube and two- step furnaces have been described and there appears to be renewed interest in metal atomisers, and graphite atomisers with metal carbide coatings. Much research effort is currently aimed at the direct analysis of solid samples without dissolution, and the widespread applica- tion of palladium as a matrix modifier is a highlight of the literature covered by this review. The most important advance in plasma spectrometry has been the coupl- ing of the ICP with mass spectrometric detection and there has been a substantial increase in the number of reports on this subject. For the first time, many of these discuss analytical developments, reflect- ing the deployment of instruments in applications laboratories. The subject attracting the greatest research effort, in relation to the ICP, is sample introduction with both electrothermal and direct inser- tion vaporisation devices being popular. Steady progress has been made on eluci- dating the excitation mechanisms in the ICP and it is hoped that efforts to intro- duce a laboratory standard plasma torch will lead to the provision of a universal data base of plasma parameters. Barry L. Sharp Macaulay Institute, Aberdeen, UK