A method for the determination of five trace elements, including Pb, Cd, Se, As and Hg concentrations in human whole blood by HNO3-H2O2 digestion under temperature-controllable condition and ICP-MS was described. Under the optimum experimental conditions and instrumental operation parameters, the limit of detection for the five elements were 2-40 ng center dot L-1 The system had a good stability with RSDs of the determination of value repeated 3 times less than 3%. The accuracy of the method was evaluated by the results of determination of the Chinese national standard references GBW (E) 09034-09036 and GBW09101b, and the analytical results well agreed with the certified values. Using this method, the concentration of the five elements in whole blood of 34 habitants from mercury mining area in western Human province was studied. The result showed that the blood Se and blood As level was at security scope, however, blood Pb, Cd and Hg level was too high and beyond the safety thresholds which should be concerned about. The analytical method mentioned above can be used for determination of trace elements in human blood to achieve a convenient and rapid operation and accurate result.
