AUTOMATED-METHOD FOR DETERMINATION OF TOTAL DISSOLVED MERCURY IN FRESH AND SALINE WATERS BY ULTRAVIOLET DIGESTION AND COLD VAPOR ATOMIC ADSORPTION SPECTROMETRY

A flow-through UV digestor is incorporated into the automated cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometric technique to provide a completely automated method for the determination of total dissolved mercury in fresh and saline natural waters. UV digestion as a means of degradation of organomercurials removes the interference of chloride which is encountered in automated chemical oxidation techniques. The method is shown to degrade seven of the most common organomercurials which may be found in natural waters. The precision of the method at levels of 0.07 µg/L, 0.28 µg/L and 0.55 µg/L Hg was ±6.0%, ±3.8%, and ±1.0%, respectively. The detection limit of the system is 0.02 µ/L and the method is capable of analyzing 30 samples per hour. © 1978, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.