Undergraduate Research Article: Determination of Cadmium, Cobalt, and Lead in Oysters From Southwest Louisiana by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

ABSTRACT

Flame atomic absorption spectrometry was used to determine cadmium, cobalt, and lead in oysters collected from an oyster field in West Cove, Southwest Louisiana, in two separate months (November and December) in 2007. In November, the mean, standard deviations, and range of the concentrations (µg/g) of cadmium were 58.6, ±15.3, 34.7-78.5; of cobalt were 27.5, ±3.9, 22.2-32.8; and of lead were 212.6, ±39.7, 131.0 − 269.2. In December, the mean, standard deviation, and range of the concentrations (µg/g) of cadmium were 73.7, ±26.3, 24.7 − 107.8; of cobalt were 46.9, ±8.0, 32.6 − 57.4; and of lead were 279.6, ±69.2, 147.3 − 355.0. Differences in concentrations for all three metals in the colder waters of December were noted.

KEYWORDS:

• cadmium
• cobalt
• flame
• lead
• oyster aas

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors acknowledge, with thanks, the support from the Merck undergraduate research program (Chad A. Thibodeaux) and a Summer research grant from the Research Commercialization and Education Experience (RC/EEP) program awarded to McNeese State University (MDV).

The major work in this paper was performed by Chad A. Thibodeaux, who graduated from McNeese State University with a B.S. in Chemistry in May 2008. He is currently in the second year of the Ph.D. program in Chemistry at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge.

Notes

Note. Sample no. indicates the sample's month by the number before the decimal point and the day of the month by the number after the decimal point.”

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