Determination of mercury by cold-vapor atomic absorption spectrometry with preconcentration on a gold-trap

The determination of trace levels of mercury by flow injection cold-vapor atomic absorption spectrometry with gold amalgamation was evaluated for organic and inorganic mercury species. The effect of the sodium tetrahydroborate(III) and hydrochloric acid concentrations as well as various instrumental parameters on the analytical performance was studied. The influence of the blank as well as the laboratory procedure for reagent purification was evaluated. The procedure was applied to the determination of mercury in lake water, while focusing on the importance of the sampling protocols.