Determination of Methyl Mercury in Lake Water

Abstract

Abstract A gas chromatographic method is described for the determination of methyl mercuric compounds in lake water. Methyl mercuric compounds are extracted by benzene in a continuous extractor followed by a selective extraction with l-cysteine. The methyl mercury in cysteine is converted to a chloride and back-extractd to benzene for gas chromatography determination using 63Ni electron capture detector. Ethyl mercury and phenyl mercury can also be determined by the method, but their extraction from lake water is not quantitative. Results of analyses of several lake water samples are reported.