3. Conclusion

This dossier illustrates the value of speciation analyses, which help us to better understand the fate and toxicity of certain elements in the environment. It is currently possible to draw on a range of totally reliable analytical techniques. Couplings with ICP-MS or AFS detection provide quantitative and qualitative information, but are limited for compounds of unknown structure. Molecular spectrometry methods enable the identification of unknown compounds, but quantification of species is virtually impossible. While all these techniques require chemical extraction for solid samples, this is not the case for physical speciation methods such as XANES. These offer interesting potential for characterizing solid samples, but are difficult to access for routine analysis. This highlights the complementary nature of each type of method for speciation analysis.

For the...