Objective: To establish the method of total arsenic in marine organisms determined by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) in order to detect the contents of total arsenic in marine organisms around the coast of Guangdong Province.
Methods: The marine organisms samples were digested by HNO3 in high-pressure closed-vessel, the contents of total arsenic were analyzed by GFAAS with PdCl2-NiNO3 as matrix modifier.
Results: The calibration curve showed good linearity in the range of 0 - 40 microg/L with correlation coefficient of 0.997, the detection limits were 0.030 mg/kg and the precisions ranged from 3.7% to 5.1%, and the results of analyzing standard materials were in the certificate values. The contents of total arsenic ranged from 0.09 mg/kg to 12.58 mg/kg wet weight in the 99 tested samples and the average contents were 1.85 mg/kg.
Conclusion: The interference of matrix could well be eliminated by the method which could be precise and accurate, the marine organisms around the coast of Guangdong Province were polluted by arsenic in different levels.