Activation analysis of mercury in environmental samples

Zmijewska, W.

doi:10.1007/bf02518017

Cited by 19 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 106 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…However, the main difficulty in the determination of Hg by INAA is the loss of this element during irradiation due to a combination of electrolytic action creating elemental Hg, recoil due to the (n,γ) reaction, and thermal heating [7]. The use of quartz ampoules as irradiation container would avoid the Hg loss [8], but it is not adequate due to the difficulty in transferring the irradiated sample from the ampoule to a counting container. In addition, the ampoule becomes quite radioactive due to the activation of the sodium present in it.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Establishing adequate conditions for mercury determination in environmental samples by INAA

2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mercury (Hg) is a toxic element released into the environment mainly by anthropic activities. Consequently, the improvement for Hg determination in environmental samples is of great interest. Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) is considered an adequate method to determine several elements. However, Hg determination by INAA is often hampered by its volatility, which causes losses. The aim of this study was to establish adequate irradiation conditions for Hg determination in environmental samples by INAA. The following parameters were evaluated: irradiation time, container for irradiation and spectral gamma ray interferences. For the study, aliquots of certified reference materials (CRMs) and tree bark samples were irradiated together with Hg synthetic standard at the IEA-R1 nuclear research reactor. Gamma ray activities of 197Hg and 203Hg were measured in a spectrometer coupled to a HGe detector. Obtained results indicated that polyethylene capsules or envelopes can be used as container for sample irradiation and the Hg impurities in these containers were negligible. Irradiation time of one hour was adequate for Hg determination and in long irradiations of 8 h problems of spectral interference of 198Au and 75Se were observed. In addition, Hg loss during the irradiation of 1 h and after irradiation was not observed. Quality control of Hg results, obtained in the CRMs analyses using one hour of irradiation, indicated good precision and accuracy with HORRAT < 2 and |Z score| < 2. The experimental conditions established in this study were applied to tree bark samples. Detection limits in these analyses were between 0.14 and 1.9 µg g-1.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Establishing adequate conditions for mercury determination in environmental samples by INAA

2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…These techniques include colorimetry (1), radiochemical neutron activation analysis (RNAA) (2), atomic fluorescence spectrometry (3), helium-microwave induced plasma atomic emission spectrometry (4), and graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (5). Some of these techniques have limitations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Total Mercury Determination in Biological and Environmental Standard Samples by Gold Amalgamation Followed by Cold Vapor Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

Ombaba

1996

Microchemical Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…are available. [11][12][13][14][15][16][17] GF-AAS is not too selective and is time consuming. The AAS methods are characterized by high efficiency, low sample volume, reagent consumption and improved tolerance to interferences.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%