Technofile : Spot the arsenic

Researchers at the Technical University of Freiberg in Germany have developed
a new spectral photometry method for measuring traces of arsenic without having
to take the sample back to the laboratory. The test can detect as little as 5
parts per billion of arsenic—an amount that could previously only be
pinpointed in a lab. “The technique is really useful, as there were no reliable
methods for on-site testing available yet,” says Broder Merkel, head of the
research team.