Measurement Techniques for Mercury: Which Approach is Right for You?

The United States Environmental Protection Agency classifies mercury as a persistent, bio-accumulative toxin(1), indicating that its toxicity does not diminish through decomposition or chemical reaction, and that it is absorbed faster than it can be excreted. Recently, efforts to minimise the release of mercury, and to track its migration when released, have demanded more sensitive analytical techniques for its measurement. As these techniques have become available, regulatory agencies around the world have written new analytical methods for their use. Table 1 shows a listing of many of the regulatory methods that are available for use with today’s technologies.