Concerns about Quadrupole ICP-MS Lead Isotopic Data and Interpretations in the Environment and Health Fields

Brian Gulson, George D. Kamenov, William Manton and Michael Rabinowitz
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Brian Gulson: Energy and Environmental Research Centre, Department of Environmental Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
George D. Kamenov: Department of Geological Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32605, USA
William Manton: Department of Geosciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080, USA
Michael Rabinowitz: Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 4, 1-18

Abstract: There has been a massive increase in recent years of the use of lead (Pb) isotopes in attempts to better understand sources and pathways of Pb in the environment and in man or experimental animals. Unfortunately, there have been many cases where the quality of the isotopic data, especially that obtained by quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (Q-ICP-MS), are questionable, resulting in questionable identification of potential sources, which, in turn, impacts study interpretation and conclusions. We present several cases where the isotopic data have compromised interpretation because of the use of only the major isotopes 208 Pb/ 206 Pb and 207 Pb/ 206 Pb, or their graphing in other combinations. We also present some examples comparing high precision data from thermal ionization (TIMS) or multi-collector plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS) to illustrate the deficiency in the Q-ICP-MS data. In addition, we present cases where Pb isotopic ratios measured on Q-ICP-MS are virtually impossible for terrestrial samples. We also evaluate the Pb isotopic data for rat studies, which had concluded that Pb isotopic fractionation occurs between different organs and suggest that this notion of biological fractionation of Pb as an explanation for isotopic differences is not valid. Overall, the brief review of these case studies shows that Q-ICP-MS as commonly practiced is not a suitable technique for precise and accurate Pb isotopic analysis in the environment and health fields.

Keywords: lead isotopes; ICP-MS; TIMS; MC-ICP-MS; environment; humans; rats; fractionation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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