Sequential extraction procedure proposed by the European Standards, Measurements and Testing (SM&T) Program, formerly the Community Bureau of Reference (BCR), has been applied for the heavy metals (HMs) partitioning in fresh water lake sediment samples. The results obtained by conventional sequential extraction BCR method (SEB) for Cd, Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb and Zn were compared with those estimated from three alternative single extractions, conventional (CSE), ultrasonic (USE) and microwave assisted (MSE), using identical operating conditions applied in each individual BCR fraction and validated by the CRM BCR 701. Extractable HMs contents obtained by all compared methodologies were measured by atomic absorption spectrometery. With the use of compromised sonication and microwave conditions, steps 1-3 of the sequential extraction (excluding the hydrogen peroxide digestion in step 3) could be completed between 15-30 min using ultrasonic bath, while 60-120 s were required for MSE. The total extractable metal contents obtained by three single extractions ranged from 75.1% to 114.0% except Cr in first step, which was extracted (125.3%) by MSE method as compared to those obtained by SEB procedure. The precision of the proposed BCR single extraction methods (expressed as RSD%) was found in the range of (3.99-9.6%) for all metals. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.