Di- and tributyltin species in marine and estuarine waters: inter-laboratory comparison of two ultratrace analytical methods employing hydride generation and atomic absorption or flame photometric detection

Tabulated results are presented from an interlaboratory study to compare 2 methods for determination of dibutyltin and tributyltin species at ug per litre concentrations. The two methods studied were hydride generation followed by atomic absorption spectrometry and gas chromatography with flame photometric detection. Good agreement was obtained between the results of the 2 methods. Studies on the effect of storing frozen samples prior to analysis showed that samples could be stored in polycarbonate containers at minus 20C for 2-3 months without significant loss of tributyltin.