Analysis of Orthophosphate, Nitrate Nitrogen, and Hexavalent Chromium in Water Samples

The current accepted methods for water analysis found in the Standard Methods compendium has published several standard methods for the determination of analytes in water, and have published minimum requirements for UV-Vis spectrophotometers. Several spectrophotometers have been released that claim the capability to analyze water, but few have the photometric accuracy to determine minute analyte concentration differences, as well as provide the photometric range to obtain readings at very low concentrations. These limitations may reduce the apparent validity of results.  In this document Shimadzu reports the use of their benchtop UV-1280 UV-Vis spectrophotometer for the analysis of three water contaminants –  phosphate, nitrate, and hexavalent chromium. Where indicated, the Shimadzu UV-1280 was equipped with a long path length cuvette holder.