An instrument has been developed capable of the direct determination of metals in air. No prior scrubbing or extracting of the metals from the air is necessary. Consequently, the time necessary for analysis is a matter of minutes - permitting real time analysis to be carried out on small volume of air. The method was based on atomic absorption spectroscopy and involved the development of a highly efficient atomizer. The sensitivity of the method was determined to be about 10 to the -12th power grams. Procedures for the direct quantitative determination of lead, mercury or cadmium in the air were developed. Calibration techniques were studied and reliable analytical techniques were developed. (Modified author abstract)