Abstract <p>The processes of Pb and Cd atomization in seawater samples have been examined in a rapidly heated (a heating rate of 10°C/msec) graphite furnace with a ballast. A method is proposed to determine the concentrations of Pb and Cd in seawater samples using a Zeeman electrothermal atomic absorption (ETAA) spectrometer with a tantalum ballast inside a rapidly heated graphite furnace without preliminary sample preparation and/or without adding chemical modifiers. The experiments involved seawater samples from the Baltic and Black Seas and samples of a model seawater solution with a salinity of 35 g/L. When a graphite furnace is heated, sample vapors condense on the surface of a relatively cold ballast. This is followed by re-evaporation into a heated analytical cell when the ballast is heated by radiating furnace walls. The shift of the atomization process to the region of a steady-state and high furnace temperature, as well as decreasing background absorption during atomization, help reduce the chemical and spectral matrix influence on the analytical signal. The standard addition method adapted to the spectrometer conversion function is used to compensate for the element assay bias. The analytical and metrological parameters of the technique have been established: the characteristic masses are 2.2 pg for Pb and 0.17 pg for Cd. The characteristic concentrations are 0.44 μg/L for Pb and 0.034 μg/L for Cd, respectively. The detection limits are 0.20 μg/L (Pb) and 0.02&#xa0;μg/L (Cd). The upper assay limits equal 0.50 μg/L for Pb and 0.05 μg/L for Cd. The random and systematic components of the error in element assay in the seawater samples are no higher than 10%.</p>