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The Time Stability of Dissolved Mercury in Water Samples‐II. Chemical Stabilization
Author(s) -
Avotins Peter,
Jenne E. A.
Publication year - 1975
Publication title -
journal of environmental quality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1537-2537
pISSN - 0047-2425
DOI - 10.2134/jeq1975.00472425000400040019x
Subject(s) - mercury (programming language) , volatilisation , chemistry , environmental chemistry , reagent , methylmercury , polyethylene , mercure , analytical chemistry (journal) , bioaccumulation , organic chemistry , computer science , programming language
Bacteria were found to be the principal cause of instability of mercury in laboratory solutions. The volatilization loss rate increased rapidly after a variable lag period and then leveled off with increasing time. The marked reduction in the loss rate of mercury is a result of its combination with bacterial cells and metabolites. Reagents which either oxidize or solubilize organics removed mercury most effectively from sample containers in which mercury‐bearing water had been stored. A small amount of mercury was found to have diffused into the polyethylene bottles. Solute mercury was most effectively stabilized in laboratory solutions and water samples with 0.05% KMnO 4 without acidification.