MERCURY SPECIES IN POTABLE GROUND-WATER IN SOUTHERN NEW-JERSEY

Water samples from 78 private potable wells in southern New Jersey wer e collected for mercury analysis in 1991-1992. Analyses were performed for the quantification of reactive, volatile and methyl mercury speci es. Relationships of mercury with other water quality parameters were evaluated also. Total mercury concentrations varied from < 1 ng L(-1) to over 36 mu g L(-1). The dominant forms in which mercury occurred in the wells sampled were Hg degrees and HgCl2 degrees, although methyl mercury was present in some wells and comprised up to 8% of the total mercury in the ground water samples.