Selective reduction method for separate determination of inorganic and total mercury in mussel tissue by flow injection cold vapour techniques

A flow injection cold vapour atomic absorption spectrometry method is described for the determination of inorganic and total mercury in mussel samples from the Galicia coast. Following microwave digestion with nitric acid/hydrogen peroxide, total mercury was determined using sodium borohydride as a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecotoxicology and environmental safety 1999-01, Vol.42 (3), p.245-252
Main Authors: Rio-Segade, S, Bendicho, C
Format: Article
Language:English
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:A flow injection cold vapour atomic absorption spectrometry method is described for the determination of inorganic and total mercury in mussel samples from the Galicia coast. Following microwave digestion with nitric acid/hydrogen peroxide, total mercury was determined using sodium borohydride as a reducing agent. Inorganic mercury was determined by selective reduction using stannous chloride in an acid medium. The accuracy of the digestion method was checked by analysing BCR Reference Material No.278 (Mytilus edulis tissue). No significant differences were found. Recovery studies on mussel tissue samples spiked with inorganic mercury and methylmercury checked the reliability of the method and revealed that the mercury contained in the mussel samples was methylmercury. There are 49 references.
ISSN:0147-6513