We are developing an instrument to continuously monitor metal aerosol emissions in applications including industrial process vents (e.g., exhaust stacks from electroplating baths), waste treatment processes (incinerators), and boilers and industrial furnaces (coal-fired power plants). The monitoring technique is based on laser spark spectroscopy (LASS; also known as laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy - LIBS), in which a pulsed laser is used to rapidly heat a particle and produce a plasma (or laser ＇spark＇). The light emission from the spark is spectrally resolved and analyzed to identify the elemental constituents of the particle and quantify the abundance of the measured species. One feature of LASS is that it can measure atomic species embedded in either solid particles or fine liquid droplets, which account for a large percentage of metal emissions from applications of interest. In the initial work described here, we have focused on the application of the LASS technique for measuring chromium emissions from electroplating baths. This paper describes the approach used for measuring the total chromium concentration in laboratory simulations of electroplating aerosols. Chromium concentrations less than 1 mg/scm can be measured. This work forms the basis for future applications to incineration and fossil power plants.