Quantitech have announced the publication of a new application note on the Determination of Mercury in Water by Cold Vapour Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy. Mercury is a highly mobile, toxic element, able to diffuse through air, soil and water. Fish have the ability to bio-accumulate mercury (in its methylated form) to 100,000 times the concentration of the water they inhabit and, as a result, mercury levels in the environment are of great concern. A recent directive proposed by the European Commission requires that all EU waters should achieve good status by 2015 and establishes a new regime for the prevention and control of chemical pollution of water. These new proposals set “environmental quality standards” which will help achieve the chemical aspects of the directive’s goal of “good ecological status” as they focus on 41 chemical substances that pose a particular risk to the aquatic environment and human health. The list of priority hazardous substances includes mercury and cadmium compounds, chlorinated paraffins, hexachlorobenzene, tributyl tin and penta-BDE. Many laboratories are charged with the task of monitoring mercury in effluent, waste, surface and groundwater and the new application note provides details information on how this analysis can be performed under the US EPA methodology 7479 and 245.1 and EN-1483 or EN-13806 with cold vapour atomic absorption spectroscopy using the Teledyne Leeman Labs Hydra AA.

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