Preparation of Environmental Samples for the Determination of Trace Constituents

The paper presents basic information on the preparation of environmental samples for trace analysis. Sample preparation is of utmost importance for the quality of analytical results and their usefulness for decision making in the area of environmental protection and management. The type and number of operations required for a given procedure is determined by the available information about the sample and the goal of the analytical determination (speciation analysis, determination of total parameters or elemental composition, etc.)