Determination of total mercury and monomethylmercury compounds in water samples from Minamata Bay, Japan: An interlaboratory comparative study of different analytical techniques

Concentration levels of mercury and its organic compounds in natural water samples are very low, so accurate analysis is still a major problem. To ens ure the validity of such measurements a proper quality control/quality assu rance programme should be implemented. In the absence of reference material s, the best way to check the accuracy of the results is through interlabora tory comparisons and comparisons of the results obtained by different analy tical methods. The purpose of the present work was to compare independent a nalytical techniques used by two different laboratories for determination o f total mercury (Hg-T) and monomethylmercury compounds (MeHg) in seawater s amples from Minamata Bay, Japan. The interlaboratory study was carried out between the Jozef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia and the National In stitute for ruIinamata Disease, Minamata, Japan. Copyright (C) 2001 John Wi ley & Sons, Ltd.