1994A&A...284...72R

High-resolution observations of two very sharp-lined, main-sequence B-type stars, associated with the H II region S 285, have been obtained using the ISIS spectrograph on the William Herschel Telescope. The spectroscopic data have been analysed using LTE model-atmosphere techniques to derive the stellar atmospheric parameters, chemical compositions and a mean distance of 4.3 kpc. As the lifetimes for these stars were calculated to be less than 6 Myrs, their photospheric abundances should reflect that of their natal interstellar material. Individual element abundances deduced for both stars were generally in excellent agreement (differing on average by less than 0.1dex), although there is some evidence to suggest that the stars formed from material which had different nitrogen abundances. Both stars appear to have chemical compositions similar to that found in the solar neighbourhood, which is consistent with a zero abundance gradient over these galactocentric distances. The chemical compositions of the stars associated with S 285 have also been compared with three other clusters at similar galactocentric distances (Bochum 1, NGC 1893 and Dolidze 25). From a differential analysis, Dolidze 25 appears to have a mean metal deficiency of approximately 0.7dex, with oxygen being less underabundant, while the other two clusters have similar abundances to S 285. We conclude that these results are inconsistent with the concept of a linear galactic abundance gradient, that the chemical composition is not unique and that there are significant abundance variations over distance scales of 1 kpc at these large galactocentric distances.