An emission spectrographic method is described to determine the concentrations of aluminum, cadmium, calcium, chromium, copper, iron, lead, magnesium, nickel, silicon, tin, and zinc in airborne dirt. A measured volume of air is drawn through a 1 in. filter paper. The filter is analyzed by a direct reading emission spectrograph using a push-up technique to introduce the sample into the analytical gap. Calculations and report writing are performed by a computer. Computer programs aid the data interpretation by annotating the results and by the preparation of summaries and graphs. The precision is approximately ±25% of the amount present at the 3 µg level. Analysis time is about 5 min/sample.
