Aa. Kriger et Rr. Turner, FIELD ANALYSIS OF MERCURY IN WATER, SEDIMENT AND SOIL USING STATIC HEADSPACE ANALYSIS, Water, air and soil pollution, 80(1-4), 1995, pp. 1295-1304
We developed a field screening method for the rapid analysis of mercur
y (Hg) in water, soil and sediment which can be applied cost-effective
ly at Hg-contaminated sites. The samples are chemically pretreated in
ordinary containers, followed by analysis of the sample headspace Hg v
apor using a portable commercially-available analyzer. Mercury in wate
r samples is reduced directly by the addition of stannous chloride, wh
ile solids are first digested with aqua regia or piranha solution to l
iberate the Hg from the solids. Aided by vigorous agitation after addi
tion of the reductant, the elemental Hg partitions between the solutio
n and headspace according to Henry's Law. The method requires about 2
and 15 minutes to complete for water and solids, respectively. The met
hod provides very useful detection limits for water (0.1 mu g/L) and s
olids (less than or equal to 2 mu g/g). Intercomparisons with laborato
ry-analyzed environmental samples have shown reasonable agreement.