The Determination of Total Mercury in Soils and River Sediments Using Thermal Decomposition and Amalgamation Coupled with Atomic Absorption

Mercury has long been recognized as a serious global pollutant that has a significant impact upon our ecosystem. Unlike most other pollutants, it is highly mobile, non-biodegradable, and bio-accumulative and as a result has to be closely monitored to ensure its harmful effects on local populations are minimized. Approximately 50 tons of mercury particulates are emitted into the atmosphere every year by a variety of different man-made and natural sources including coal-fired power plants, solid waste incineration plants, volcanoes and forest fires. When the mercury falls back to earth it is deposited on the land and gets into the soil, river sediments and water ecosystems, where it is converted into the highly toxic organo mercury compound, methyl mercury (CH3Hg). This toxicant enters both the plant and aquatic system food chain, and eventually ends up in the crops, vegetables and seafood we consume.