Equipment for analysis of trace mercury in treated water

这项建议的目的是获得一种分析仪器，用于分析水中痕量汞的浓度。该仪器将支持一项快速增长的研究计划，重点是开发减少汞向环境的通量的新技术。由于过去的工业活动，世界上有许多地方的汞被释放到环境中，导致土壤和沉积物中汞的积累。这些汞可以在几十年的时间里缓慢释放，不断进入食物链。由于汞的毒性非常高，世界各地的监管压力越来越大，要求将受污染场所的汞排放限制在极低浓度。我们的研究项目旨在开发具有成本效益的管理方法，以尽量减少这种高毒性污染物的释放，并防止其进入生物群。目前正在进行研究，以评估稳定技术的有效性，这些技术限制了汞向环境的长期释放。这些技术涉及将反应介质与汞污染的沉积物和土壤共混，以尽量减少汞的释放及其转化。所要求的设备将通过采用金浓度然后是冷蒸气原子荧光，以自动、快速的方式分析极低浓度的汞。该设备将提供亚纳克/升范围内的分析。为了评估所提议的稳定方法是否能够有效地将汞控制在对环境有保护作用的浓度，需要这些低检测限。

This proposal is directed toward acquisition of an analytical instrument for the analysis of trace concentrations of mercury in water. This instrument will support a rapidly growing research program focused on the development of novel technologies to reduce the flux of mercury to the environment. There are numerous locations in the world where mercury has been released to the environment due to past industrial activities, resulting in accumulation of mercury in soils and sediments. This mercury can then be released slowly over many decades, continuously entering the food chain. Because of the very high toxicity of mercury, there is increasing regulatory pressure around the world to limit the release of mercury from contaminated sites to very low concentrations. Our research program is directed at developing cost effective management approaches to minimize the release of this highly toxic contaminant and prevent uptake into biota. Studies are being conducted to assess the effectiveness of stabilization techniques, which limit the long-term release of mercury to the environment. These techniques involve co-blending reactive media with mercury contaminated sediments and soils to minimize release of mercury and its transformations. The equipment requested will provide analyses of very low concentrations of mercury in an automated, rapid manner by employing gold concentration followed by cold-vapour atomic fluorescence. The equipment will provide analyses in the sub nanogram per liter range. These low detection limits are required to evaluate whether the proposed stabilization approaches can effectively control mercury at concentrations that are protective of the environment.