[Determination of trace mercury species in water and soil samples with atomic fluorescence spectrometry]

With hydride generation-cold atomic fluorescence spectrometry (HG-AFS), the method of determining trace mercury species in water and soil samples in Jimei, Xiamen city, China was established. The content of inorganic mercury in water was measured by sample direct injection, while the total mercury was measured after digestion with the reagents of KBrO3-KBr. The soil samples were digested with microwave for total mercury measurement. Sequential extraction procedure was carried out for determining different mercuric species in soil samples. The results indicated that the mercury concentration of wastewater from chemical laboratory exceeded the limit of the integrated wastewater discharge standard of China (GB 8978-1996). It is one of the serious pollution sources of mercury in environment. The mercury contents from soil samples including the sideward soil of highway, the sea sediment and the garden soil were under the limits of relative national standards of China. However, attention should be paid to the accumulation of mercury in garden soil due to the artificial pollution. Meanwhile, the average recoveries for water and soil samples tested with adding standards were 93.7% and 93.8%, respectively. Meanwhile, the detection limits estimated with 3-fold standard deviation were 0.000 8 microg x L(-1) for water and 0.072 3 microg x kg(-1) for soil, respectively. The results indicated that the established method, with the merits of high sensitivity and precision, was suitable for the measurement of trace mercury species in environmental samples.