The absorbance signal in electrothermal at. absorption spectrometry is a result of the processes of atom formation and dissipation and 1st of all depends on the initial generation of atoms from the surface. The rising part of the absorbance time profiles can be used for characterization of the release of the metals like Pd, Ag, Au etc. The method is applied to study the Pd release from a pyrocoated graphite support at different initial masses of the Pd. The kinetic parameters are evaluated and conclusions about the distribution of Pd on the graphite surface are made. The estd. values of apparent activation energies depend on the initial mass of analyte. The advantages and limitations of the present approach are discussed. [on SciFinder (R)]