Mercury – Method for the determination of mercury vapours in workplace air using atomic absorption spectrometry
Air Monitoring Method – Translation of the German version from 2017
Ralph Hebisch1 (Method development, Head of the working group “Air Analyses” of the Permanent Senate Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft)Norbert Fröhlich1 (Method development)
Tamara Houben1 (Method development)
Wolfgang Schneider2 (External verification)
Thomas Helmut Brock3 (Head of the working group "Analytics")
Andrea Hartwig4 (Chair of the Permanent Senate Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft)
MAK Commission5
1 Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA), Friedrich-Henkel-Weg 1–25, 44149 Dortmund, Germany
2 Institute for Occupational Safety and Health of the German Social Accident Insurance (IFA), Alte Heerstraße 111, 53757 Sankt Augustin, Germany
3 German Social Accident Insurance, Institution for the raw materials and chemical industry, Prevention - Department of Hazardous Substances, Biological Agents and Analytical Chemistry, Kurfürsten-Anlage 62, 69115 Heidelberg, Germany
4 Institute of Applied Biosciences, Department of Food Chemistry and Toxicology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Adenauerring 20a, Building 50.41, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
5 Permanent Senate Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Kennedyallee 40, 53175 Bonn, Germany
Abstract
This analytical method is a validated measurement procedure for the determination of mercury vapours in workplace air using atomic absorption spectrometry in a concentration range of one thousandth up to twice the currently valid Occupational Exposure Limit (OEL) or MAK value of 0.02 mg/m3. Both personal and stationary sampling can be performed for risk assessment at work. Sampling is carried out by drawing a defined volume of air through an adsorption tube filled with hopcalite (mixture of MnO2 and CuO) using a flow‐regulated pump. The flow rate is set to 250 mL/min with a recommended air sample volume of approx. 30 L at a sampling period of 2 hours. After sampling the loaded hopcalite is transferred into a quartz boat and the collected mercury can be analysed directly via atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). The quantitative determination is based on a calibration function obtained by means of a 10‐point calibration. The limit of quantification is 0.013 mg/m3 based on an air sample volume of approx. 30 L with an expanded uncertainty between 18 and 21%.
Joint Publication of the Analytical Subcommittee of the Chemistry Board of Experts of the Expert Committee Raw Materials and Chemical Industry of the German Social Accident Insurance and the Working Group “Air Analyses” of the Permanent Senate Commission of the DFG for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area.
