If you're involved in elemental analyses, or if you teach elemental analyses, this little book is a wonderfully useful collection of information. It describes analytical atomic spectrometry methods including the theory behind the method, the design of the instruments used, calibration methods, sample collection and preservation, sample preparation, quality control and assurance, and an extensive collection of official methods drawn from several regulatory agencies.

The Introduction provides a brief discussion of the techniques of atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES), and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), including a concise description of the theoretical basis for these techniques, written for the experienced atomic spectroscopist. Each type of instrument and instrument components (light sources, atomization sources, detectors and general instrument design), is described. Useful instrument accessories for analyzing particular elements, such as cold-vapor generation for mercury, are reviewed. The discussion of chemical, physical, and spectral interferences includes instrument calibration strategies to deal with interferences. Throughout the instrumentation and methodology reviews in the Introduction, the authors critically compare the three techniques for particular analytes in terms of interferences and detection limits, with many useful tables.

After the Introduction comes a detailed treatment of sample collection, which addresses site selection, sampling strategies and protocols, sample containers, and sample collection for air, waters, wastewater, liquid wastes, soils, sediments, sludges, solid wastes, biological tissues, and foods. For so brief a book the discussion of all these types of samples is remarkably detailed and provides the reader with abundant information to assist in designing sampling strategies that are acceptable to regulatory agencies.

The regulatory requirements that are surveyed in this compendium include the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), the Superfund Authorization and Reauthorization Act (SARA), the Resource Recovery and Conservation Act (RCRA), the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), the Water Pollution Control Act (WPCA), the Clean Water Act (CWA), the Water Quality Act (WQA), the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), and the Nutritional Education and Labeling Act (NELA). After a brief description of these legislative requirements, most of the remainder of the book is devoted to detailed methodologies for each analyte as required by these acts.

The strength of this book is its collection in one place of the methodologies required by many regulatory agencies for the elemental analysis of many types of samples by AAS, ICP-AES, and ICP-MS. References (186 of 'em) are included that give the reader additional information on the techniques described in the first part of the book as well as the sources for the individual methods described in the methods part of the book. One quibble: I was occasionally confused by typographical errors; the copy editing could have been better. This is a well-written, informative book that provides well-organized information on the requirements of regulatory agencies on elemental analyses.