ABSTRACT
The total mercury level is the sum of organic mercury and inorganic mercury in a sample. Mercury is present in the environment in organic and inorganic compounds, either dissolved in water or adsorbed on particulate matter or sediments. Dithizone is widely used in the colorimetric analysis of mercury, where the absorption of visible light is detected as a measure of mercury concentration. In atomic absorption spectrophotometry, a solution containing mercury is introduced directly into a flame. The presence of large quantities of metal ions which can be reduced by stannous salts may interfere with the reduction of mercury. In organomercury compounds of the RHgX type, R is an organic group, such as alkyl and phenyl, and X is an electronegative group, such as halogen and hydroxyl. The lower alkyl mercury compounds are moderately soluble in water, and a relatively large amount of solvent is necessary to effect quantitative extraction.
