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Published on: July 10, 2015
Unique Hg stable isotope signatures of compact fluorescent lamp-sourced Hg
Chris Mead1, James R Lyons, Thomas M Johnson
1School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA. Chris.Mead@asu.edu
Abstract:
The recent widespread adoption of compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) has increased their importance as a source of environmental Hg. Stable isotope analysis can identify the sources of environmental Hg, but the isotopic composition of Hg from CFL is not yet known. Results from analyses of CFL with a range of hours of use show that the Hg they contain is isotopically fractionated in a unique pattern during normal CFL operation. This fractionation is large by comparison to other known fractionating processes for Hg and has a distinctive, mass-independent signature, such that CFL Hg could be uniquely identified from other sources. The fractionation process described here may also explain anomalous fractionation of Hg isotopes in precipitation.
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