Determination of Pb, As, Hg, Cd, Cu in Pheretima by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry

An Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) method has been set up to determine the contents of five heavy metal elements, namely lead (Pb), arsenic (As), mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd) and copper (Cu), in different habitats and batches of Pheretima. The sample was pretreated by microwave digestion. The results showed that the linearity of the five heavy metal elements were good (r≥0.999 6), the average recoveries were in the range of 92.8%~95.2%, and the detection limits of the method were in the range of 0.0010~0.092 mg/kg. The detection method is of highly sensitive, repeatable and accurate. Five heavy metal elements were detected in samples from different habitats and batches. These five heavy metal elements of Pb, As, Hg, Cd and Cu in Pheretima need to be monitored with emphasis.