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Comparison of digestion methods for the determination of total mercury in environmental samples by flow injection CV-AAS
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1997
Year
Environmental ChemistryChemical EngineeringEngineeringEnvironmental EngineeringMetalloid ContaminationFlow Injection Cv-aasMass SpectrometryEnvironmental Analytical ChemistryAnalytical ChemistryDigestion MethodsTotal MercuryFlow InjectionEnvironmental ToxicologyElemental CharacterizationMercury Chemistry
Three closed digestion methods were evaluated for the fast, accurate and precise determination of total mercury in environmental samples by flow injection cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry. The method based on the use of HNO 3 -H 2 O 2 mixture with microwave oven pretreatment was found to be the most suitable for reliable determination of mercury. The methods based on the use of HNO 3 for digestion gave incomplete recovery of methyl mercury and the determinations were strongly interfered with by the volatile nitrogen oxides. This interference was not observed with the HNO 3 -H 2 O 2 digestion mixture. The application of the best method to mercury deposition study provided accurate and reproducible analytical data.