Gas chromatographic-atmospheric pressure active nitrogen method for organomercury speciation in environmental samples.

Methods are presented for the determination of methylmercury in fish, water, urine, and sediments, and diorganomercury compounds in water. Two significant differences from previous methods are the use of methylene chloride extracting solvent which permits sample extracts to be concentrated to volumes as low as 0.1 mL, and use of a gas chromatograph interfaced to an atmospheric pressure active nitrogen (APAN) afterflow detector.

Quantitative elemental analyses by plasma emission spectroscopy.

Argon-supported inductively coupled plasmas operated at atmospheric pressures are excellent vaporization-atomization-excitation-ionization sources for analytical atomic emission spectroscopy. When a polychromator is used for observing the emitted spectra, the metals and metalloids can be determined simultaneously at the ultratrace, trace, minor, and major concentration levels under one set of experimental parameters. Alternatively, programmable scanning spectrometers may be utilized for sequential determinations.