3
Metalyser
®
Soils HM4000
Instruction Manual v3.0
1. INTRODUCTION
The Metalyser
®
Soils HM4000 kit is ideal for testing of very low heavy metal
concentrations in soil samples, for example in industrial sites, farms, mines
and river banks etc. The HM4000 is a rugged field kit that tests for a rage of 6
heavy metals and can be used both as a collection and measurement device
for at-site analysis. The kit contains a digestion kit for preparation of soil
extracts. These aqueous extracts can then be analysed using the Metalyser
®
instrument. It is very portable, using a battery as its power source and can
provide results to <10mg/kg rapidly.
The Metalyser
®
HM4000 utilises a voltammetric technique to detect heavy
metal ions in solution. The technique is not new
– it was first proposed in the
1920s
– but recent advances in electronics and software have provided a
means to make the instrument portable. The instrument takes a complex idea
but makes it easy to understand and is therefore usable for a competent
person not trained in voltammetry. No complex chemical techniques need to
be employed during the course of the analysis.
The HM4000 is very robust and has been designed to be virtually
maintenance free. The instrument is sealed against water ingress and is
housed in a waterproof case, making it suitable for use onsite for carrying out
field screening analysis. The kit is equipped with all necessary
instrumentation, consumables and safety apparatus for safe and precise
analysis of soil samples.
The Metalyser
®
is ready out-of-the-box and can be used after charging the
built-in battery. After a period of non-use, the Metalyser
®
is ready to operate
very quickly after putting the sonde head into the water sample.
The soil extraction procedure is outlined in Section 4 of this manual. The soil
extract prepared in this stage can be used for analysis of its heavy metal
contents using the Metalyser
®
HM4000 instrument as outlined in Section 3 of
this manual.
It is recommended to familiarize yourself with the instrument first using
drinking water samples before advancing to the soil extraction procedures.
Note
The results shown will be in units of mg/kg but for water samples this
can be directly correlated to ppb.
