A simple dismountable cell for determining mercury by the ''cold vapor
'' method using a commercial atomic absorption spectrophotometer has b
een described. No additional alignment devices for to the instrument a
re needed for the use of a cell of such a design. The mounting and ali
gnment of the cell for operation are done in about 10 min. The mercury
detection limit was 10 ng at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3:1.