Abstract
Many studies have been carried out on the factors involved in the collection of water and precipitation samples for the later determination of trace heavy metal concentrations. Problems which have been identified in the use of sampling vessels for mercury determinations include (a) contamination from the vessels and from the atmosphere, (b) loss of mercury to the vessel walls, and (c) loss from solution to the air due to chemical or microbiological reduction. An assessment of some earlier data on mercury in natural waters and precipitation will be given. In our initial studies on mercury transport in natural waters, we encountered a number of problems in sampling, principally contamination. Fortunately, the automatic method used for the determination of total mercury in water could be adapted to carry out determinations without the intermediate use of sampling vessels. The equipment can be used on site and the water to be analyzed is pumped directly into the analytical system. It was originally used to evaluate different sampling techniques, sampling vessels and storage methods. Some data is shown to illustrate resultant improvements in the sampling methods. The method has also been used as a continuous monitor for determining total mercury concentrations. A number of measurements of mercury in precipitation have also been carried out. The method is sufficiently versatile to be adapted for speciation of mercury in natural waters, and some results are shown to illustrate this use.
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McLean, R.A.N., Farkas, M.O., Findlay, D.M. (1980). Determination of Mercury in Natural Waters. In: Toribara, T.Y., Miller, M.W., Morrow, P.E. (eds) Polluted Rain. Environmental Science Research. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-3060-8_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-3060-8_8
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