Low recovery rate and inconsistent measurements were found in the determination of mercury by method of cold vapor atomic absorption spectrophotometry using the hydride formation system (Hitachi HFS-2, Hitachi Ltd., Tokyo). To overcome this problem of insufficient reaction time we developed a simple T-joint de vice attaching to the commercial HFS-2 system for the determination of mercury in various biological tissues and sediment samples. The T-joint device was designed to combine sample and reductant injection which in creased the reaction time of the sample allowing a complete formation of mercury vapor and speeding up the analysis process in comparison to the traditional cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometric method. Recov eries of mercury were in the range 95% -100%. The corrected procedure gave precise and accurate readings with several certified reference materials: NIE S No. 2 from the Japan Environment Agency; IAEA-3 5 6 from the International Atomic Energy Association, and DOLT-2, DORM-2, TORT-2, PACS-1 and MESS-2 from the Na tional Research Council of Canada. Simple acid digestion methods were developed based on the sample Hg level and the nature of the sample. The sample detection limits were 0.0125 μ ββ " 1 fresh weight and 0.0625 ug g" 1 dry weight for biological samples, and as low as 0.0125 μg g" 1 dry weight for sediment samples. These ana lytical protocols we established met the general requirements in environmental research and monitoring of mercury pollution.Present address:
Bioaccumulation and distribution of Mn and Zn in the total softtissues, digestive glands, residuals and adductor muscles of thehorse mussel Modiolus modiolus from three sites, includingindustrialized and non‐industrialized locations in Eastern Canada,were investigated. Extremely high digestive gland metal concentrationswere found in individual mussels, as high as 1819 µg/gMn wet weight and 1964 µg/g Zn wet weight,with mean values from 358 to 404 µg/gMn and from 399 to 614 µg/g Zn for thecollection sites. High Mn to Zn interrelationships were observed inall types of tissues and at all sites. Between different tissues,Zn was interrelated by linear relationships, and Mn was best describedby power curve relationships for all tissue types. In the totalsoft tissue, Mn and Zn interrelations were fitted to power regressioncurves with different slopes between the three study sites. Thisindicated that horse mussel was exposed to different metal levels inthe environments and could be useful for monitoring these metals.The uptake of both metals at extremely high concentrations, thelack of regulation and the occurrence of interactions all suggest thatMn and Zn may play a biological role in horse mussels. Zn and Mninteractions, surprisingly, were not disrupted at the very highconcentrations of either metal, which proves that the mechanism ofmetal interactions does not involve a detoxification role.
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