Suspended ceilings in indoor swimming pools are safety‐relevant components. As was demonstrated by the collapses of the ceiling of the Uster (CH) indoor swimming pool (1985) and again at Steenwijk (NL, 2001) greater attention has to be paid to selecting suitable materials and inspecting the state of such components. Our findings according to corrosion of metal fastening components of more than 150 indoor swimming pools in Switzerland are reported. The corrosion behaviour of stainless steels and galvanized steels are compared and discussed including newer results from the literature.

Runoff and total corrosion loss for copper and zinc were investigated at seven sites in Switzerland. The exposure sites were chosen near the stations of the National Air Pollution Monitoring Network (NABEL), where climatic and air pollution data are measured. Runoff and corrosion rates were investigated after 0.5, 1, 2 and 4 years of exposure. Runoff rates differ from corrosion rates depending on the material, the exposure time and the sampling site.

Dose-response functions (DRFs) for weathering steel (WTSt 52), copper and zinc were obtained from a four-year exposure programme within Switzerland. Corrosion loss for steel, copper and zinc was investigated at seven sites. The exposure sites were chosen near the stations of the National Air Pollution Monitoring Network (NABEL), where climatic and air pollution data are measured. Corrosion loss was investigated gravimetrically after 1, 2 and 4 years of exposure.The resulting DRFs show a critical contribution of ozone in addition to sulphur dioxide to the corrosion of steel, copper and zinc. The growing demand for environmental protective actions has led to lower atmospheric SO2 levels as a result of the use of cleaner heating oil and sophisticated gas emission controls. This has increased the relative importance of other atmospheric pollutants like ozone or nitrous oxide for the corrosion of metallic materials. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.

Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry was used for spatially resolved trace element analysis of archaeological samples. An autofocus system was built in order to achieve reproducible ablation conditions. This system allows focusing of any sample automatically, with an accuracy of 10–50 μm, in the focal plane of the laser, or any height specified by the user, and can correct for surface roughness point per point. The applicability of the autofocus system is demonstrated. Trace element determination of archaeological samples with a lateral resolution of 50 μm is shown as an example. Absolute detection limits of 01–1.4 pg are achieved.

According to the OECD, it is estimated that some 70000 synthetic chemicals are in daily use. This number is still growing. Some of these products (e.g. polychlorinated biphenyls or chlorofluorocarbons) have gained great public attention due to their unexpected undesirable long-term impact on the ecosystem. The industrialized nations have therefore implemented and enforced stringent laws, in order to control the use of potentially harmful substances.It is an almost impossible task to have the EU Base Set available for all existing substances. The EU and other organizations like OECD have therefore put together priority lists of potentially harmful high-volume chemicals which are assessed by experts. The last couple of years, a tremendous amount of work has been done to develop computer-based modeling systems to predict the environmental behavior and distribution of chemical substances.There are models around (e.g. Mackay, USES, TGD EU, and others) to describe environmental distribution (Predicted Environmental Concentration (PEC)) of nonionic and nonpolar substances. For a first assessment, only a few physical properties (MP, BP, SOL, and possibly pKa) are needed. For ionic and/or polar substances, expert know-how is required.For environmental toxicity (Predicted No Effect Concentration (PNEC)), however, the situation is far more complex. There are different modes of action for each trophic level (algae, crustacea, fish). Computer models with Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship (QSAR) offer a scientifically attractive tool to predict aquatic toxicity and biodegradation. There are no models that are applicable to heterogeneous chemical classes without expert know-how. Further progress can therefore be expected.The result of an ERA for perchloroethylene with USES is presented, and the problems of the adequacy of the model parameters explained. Here too, a further improvement is addressed.QSARs are attractive tools to design products with improved environmental compatibility at the research stage even before the first synthesis. In order to achieve such an ambitious aim, QSAR models that also include expert rules and evaluated results and their dependence on molecular structures will have to be further developed.

The role of modifiers in electrothermal vaporization inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ETV-ICP-MS) for the determination of refractory elements such as La or U and carbide forming elements such as B has been studied. Solutions of NH4F, NH4Cl, NH4Br, NaCl, NaF, NH4HSO4, (NH4)(2)HPO4, the gaseous halogenated hydrocarbons CHF3 and CCl2F2 and HCl have been used as modifiers.The mechanism of the modifier effect and the influence of modifiers on sensitivity enhancement have been investigated. The sensitivity enhancements are great enough to achieve absolute detection limits of 2-6 pg for boron and 10 fg for La and U. The signal reproducibility is 0.5-3.0% for a concentration of 1 mu g 1(-1) La and U, and 20 mu g 1(-1) boron. Therefore, by adding modifiers, the use of ETV-ICP-MS can be extended to trace element determination of refractory and carbide forming elements in mu l amounts of sample.

Modem analytical chemistry relies on a multiplicity of different instrumental methods, their ranges of application being partially overlapping, partially supplementary. The universally utilizable dream method, which solves all possible problems does not exist. Nevertheless, every existing instrumental analytical method can be described as a modular composition including three steps: provocation, reaction, and detection. Based on this concept, the irritating multiplicity of existing analytical methods can be well surveyed.

A computer program has been developed to perform automated laser ablation ICP-MS measurements. Up to 500 points can be selected on one sample and analyzed automatically. For each point, all the laser parameters (laser pulse mode, laser energy, Q-switch delay, frequency, and number of shots per point) can be selected individually. All of these parameters are stored together with the coordinates of the selected points in a log file. Due to the degree of automation offered by the program, measuring distribution patterns or doing fundamental studies on laser ablation by systematically varying the laser parameters becomes much less time-consuming.Homogeneity testing is possible by selecting an area on the sample and specifying a number of sample sites, which will be randomly distributed within this area. Stored patterns can be re-used offering the possibilities of repetitive sampling or depth profiling. The performance of the program is shown by doing a homogeneity analysis of a steel sample. Furthermore, some hardware changes were made in order to simplify the location of the laser spot on the sample and to illuminate the sample not only from the top or the side, but also from the bottom of the sample.

A new technique is evaluated for normalizing laser power fluctuations in laser-ablation atomic spectrometry. The technique involves measuring the light loss caused by scattering from the ablated material as it flows through a specially designed cell. The resulting measured optical density can be used to correct for variations in the amount of sample that has been ablated. This new approach is compared to the use of a matrix element as an internal standard. Three different excitation sources for AES (Ar-ICP, Ar-MIP, and He-MIP) were combined with laser ablation and evaluated with the new normalization approach. Although the overall performance is best for the Ar-ICP combination, the MIPs have some desirable characteristics (i.e., low background radiation) which in some cases lead to better results. The spectra were collected with a photodiode-based spectrometer that is designed for simultaneous multichannel detection and is therefore especially well suited to measurement and background correction of signals produced during transient sampling such as with laser ablation. The ability of such a spectrometer to deal with complex samples such as cast iron is discussed.