OBSERVATION OF UNUSUAL ORGANIC MERCURY SPECIES IN SOILS AND SEDIMENTSOF INDUSTRIALLY CONTAMINATED SITES

Several industrial sites in Germany and a mining area in Slovenia were studied for the occurrence of organic mercury compounds. These;sites included a former fungicide plant, a chlor alkali plant, an acetaldehy de plant, and a warehouse for phenyl-mercury chloride-treated seeds. B esides methylmercury compounds, which have been found at all the above -mentioned locations, various organomercury species have been detected . Among them were ethylmercury, methoxyethylmercury and phenylmercury compounds. In addition, three organomercury species were found that ha ve not been identified yet. Analyses were carried out by a newly devel oped HPLC/AFS method, which allows the determination of CH3Hg+ and org anomercury species other than methylmercury.