A passive integrative sampler for mercury vapor in air and neutral mercury species in water

Abstract

A passive integrative mercury sampler (PIMS) based on a sealed polymeric membrane was effective for the collection and preconcentration of Hg⁰. Because the Hg is both oxidized and stabilized in the PIMS, sampling intervals of weeks to months are possible. The effective air sampling rate for a 15×2.5 cm device was about 2 l-equivalents/day (0.002 m³/day) and the detection limit for 4-week sampling was about 2 ng/m³ for conventional ICP-MS determination without clean-room preparation. Sampling precision was ⩽5% RSD for laboratory exposures, and 5–10% RSD for field exposures. These results suggest that the PIMS could be useful for screening assessments of Hg contamination and exposure in the environment, the laboratory, and the workplace. The PIMS approach may be particularly useful for applications requiring unattended sampling for extended periods at remote locations. Preliminary results indicate that sampling for dissolved gaseous mercury (DGM) and potentially other neutral mercury species from water is also feasible. Rigorous validation of the sampler performance is currently in progress.