Critical comparison of two standard digestion procedures for the determination of total mercury in natural water samples by cold vapour atomic absorption spectrometry

Abstract

Two pretreatment procedures for total mercury determinations in natural water samples were compared. The first, the Swedish Standard method (DP1), involves digestion of water in the presence of concentrated nitric acid at 120°C and under pressure for 30 min. In the West German Standard method (DP2), small volumes of nitric and sulphuric acids, permanganate and peroxodisulphate are added to the sample, and digestion proceeded at 50°C in an ultrasonic bath. Mercury was determined after both digestion procedures using a modified cold vapour atomic absorption spectrometric method, in which mercury generated on addition of a reducing agent is collected and subsequently atomized in a platinum-lined graphite furnace. The efficacy of the two digestion procedures was tested using various standard organic mercury compounds and it was found that only DP2 provided quantitative recoveries. Purification of the reagents required by DP2 was achieved using a mercury-selective ion-exchange resin, Chelite S, resulting in blank levels below 1.5 ng Hg l −1. Both methods were applied to the determination of total mercury in an unpolluted marsh water sample, giving 2.0 ng Hg l −1 (DP1) and 2.7 ng Hg l −1 (DP2). The West German Standard digestion procedure (DP2) is recommended for the determination of total mercury in natural water samples.