The method previously described by Casetta et al. for the determination of aluminium in dilute (1 + 1) human serum using matrix modification and a stabilised temperature platform furnace has been considered. The combination of the platform, integrated absorbance, new coated tubes and oxygen addition to the charring step, provided better precision and smaller variation during the life of the tube. Good results were achieved by standardising the procedure against a calibration graph if integrated absorbance signals were used for quantitation. The calibration was linear up to at least 150 µg l^–1 of aluminium; the within-run and between-run precision was 5.5 and 6.5%, respectively (at 14.3 µg l^–1 of aluminium); and the recovery of aluminium added to pooled serum ranged between 97 and 102%. Furnace lifetimes in excess of 200–250 firings using oxygen ashing were routinely achieved.