MEASUREMENTS OF MERCURY ASSOCIATED WITH AIRBORNE PARTICLE MATTER: USE OF TWO SAMPLING DEVICES

摘要

Two different sampling devices, quartz mini-sampler with quartz fiber filter (6 mm diameter) [1] and Teflon openface sampler with quartz fiber filter (47mm diameter) were compared for collecting airborne particulate matter for the analysis of total filterable mercury (TFM) in the atmosphere. Thermal pyrolysis was used for sample preparation and Cold Vapor Atomic Fluorescence Spectrometry (CVAFS) for mercury detection and quantification. The mini-sampler has a better time resolution (daily) than the Teflon openface sampler (normally one week integration time). The latter has the advantages of better precision, convenience, time saving and cost effectiveness. The comparative measurements of TFM in the ambient atmosphere have been done simultaneously using the two methods in downtown Toronto from June- December 2004. It is observed that, under the identical weather and analysis conditions, the weekly concentration of TFM ranged from 22.9 ?10.6 to 56.0 ? 52.2 pg m-3 and 20.1 ? 1.6 to 63.0 ? 19.1 pg m-3 by mini-samplers and open-face sampler, respectively. Thus the results showed a good agreement between the two sampling methods.