title: Solar UV-treatment of water samples for stripping-voltammetric determination of trace heavy metals in Awash river, Ethiopia.
abstract: We report about testing a new mobile and sustainable water sample digestion method in a preliminary field trial in Ethiopia. In order to determine heavy metals at the ultra-trace level by stripping voltammetric techniques in water samples from Awash River, we applied our new method of solar UV-assisted sample pretreatment to destroy the relevant interfering dissolved organic matter. The field tests revealed that 24 h of solar UV irradiation were sufficient to achieve the same sample pretreatment results as with classic digestion method based on intense and hard UV. Analytical results of this study suggest that both a hydroelectric power station and agrichemical applications at Koka Lake have increased the levels of the investigated metals zinc, cadmium, lead, copper, cobalt, nickel, and uranium.
authors.affiliation: Adama Science and Technology University, Adama, Ethiopia.
authors.forename: Gelaneh
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Woldemichael
authors.affiliation: Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
authors.forename: Taffa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tulu
authors.affiliation: University at Albany, SUNY, Department of Chemistry, 1400 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12222, United States; University of Rostock, Department of Chemistry, A.-Einstein-Str. 3a, D-18059 Rostock, Germany.
authors.forename: Gerd-Uwe
authors.initials: GU
authors.lastname: Flechsig
keywords: Environmental analysis; Polarography; Sample handling; Voltammetry