Hm. Boylan et al., Rapid mercury analysis for the field: Method development and application to natural gas utility sites, WATER A S P, 127(1-4), 2001, pp. 255-270
A new technique based on traditional concepts has been developed for rapid,
on-site analysis of mercury in environmental media. In this method, mercur
y is analyzed by integration of thermal decomposition, amalgamation, and at
omic absorption spectrometry (TDA-AAS). Sample preparation and analysis are
essentially integrated into a single instrumental system; solid samples ca
n be analyzed directly, without chemical pre-treatment, in an analysis time
of approximately 5 minutes per sample. A wide range of standard reference
material has been analyzed by TDA-AAS. Agreement with the certified values
at the 95% confidence interval for all matrices tested validates this techn
ique. Subsequent to validation, TDA-AAS has been used in a series of field
studies in conjunction with remediation of mercury-contaminated soil at nat
ural gas utility sites. Reasonable agreement has been demonstrated between
TDA-AAS on-site results and laboratory results using conventional mercury a
nalysis techniques. Independent laboratory confirmation of the field data i
s not required as TDA-AAS demonstrates lab-quality results on-site. This fi
eld technique has been shown to surpass traditional laboratory methods in t
erms of both precision and detection limits. A method for the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), Method 7473, has been developed
and validated based on TDA-AAS methodology (US EPA, 1998).