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3500-Hg MERCURY
Mercury (Hg) is the third element in Group IIB in the periodic
table; it has an atomic number of 80, an atomic weight of 200.59,
and valences of 1 and 2. The average abundance of Hg in the
earth’s crust is 0.09 ppm; in soils it is 30 to 160 ppb; in streams
it is 0.07 ␮g/L, and in groundwaters it is 0.5 to 1 ␮g/L. Mercury
occurs free in nature, but the chief source is cinnabar (HgS).
Mercury is used in amalgams, mirror coatings, vapor lamps,
paints, measuring devices (thermometers, barometers, manome-
ters), pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and fungicides. It is often used
in paper mills as a mold retardant for paper.
The common aqueous species are Hg2⫹, Hg(OH)20, Hg0, and
stable complexes with organic ligands. Inorganic mercury can be
methylated in sediments when sulfides are present to form di-
methyl mercury, (CH3)2Hg, which is very toxic and can concen-
trate in the aquatic food chain. Mercury poisoning occurred in
Japan in the 1950s as the result of consumption of shellfish that
Joint Task Group: 20th Edition—See 3500-Al.
METALS (3000)
had accumulated mercury. In times past, mercury was used in the
haberdashery industry to block hats (the cause of the “mad
hatter” syndrome).
Mercury is considered nonessential for plants and animals.
The U.S. EPA primary drinking water standard MCL is 2 ␮g/L.
The cold-vapor atomic absorption method (3112B) is the
method of choice for all samples. The inductively coupled
plasma mass spectrometric method (3125) also may be applied
successfully in some cases, even though mercury is not specif-
ically listed as an analyte in the method. The dithizone method
detailed in the 19th edition of Standard Methods can be used for
determining high levels of mercury (⬎2 ␮g/L) in potable waters.
Because mercury can be lost readily from samples, preserve
them by treating with HNO3 to reduce the pH to ⬍2 (see Section
1060). Glass storage containers are preferred to plastic, because
they can extend the holding time to 30 d, rather than only the
14 d allowed in plastic containers.