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Published:
Journal of Analytical Toxicology,
ISSN 0146-4760,
Volume 31, Number 3, April 2007,
pp.144-149
Total Mercury in the Hair of Children by Combustion Atomic
Absorption Spectrometry (Comb-AAS)
Sergi Díez[1,2], Paolo Montuori[3], Xavier Querol[1],
and Josep M. Bayona[2]
[1]Environmental Geology Department, ICTJA-CSIC, Lluis Solé Sabarís,
s/n, 08028 Barcelona, Spain;
[2]Environmental Chemistry Department, IIQAB-CSIC, Jordi Girona, 18-26, Barcelona,
E-08034, Spain; and
[3]Department of Preventive Medical Sciences, University of Naples “Federico
II”, C/ Sergio Pansini, 5, Naples, E-80131, Italy
A simple and rapid procedure for measuring total mercury in human
hair was evaluated and compared with a conventional technique. An Advanced Mercury
Analyzer (AMA-254) based on sample catalytic combustion, preconcentration by
gold amalgamation, thermal desorption, and atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS)
(Comb-AAS) was assessed for the direct determination of milligram quantities
of human hair. Precision (% relative standard deviation) was < 7% and accuracy
was determined by using two human hair reference materials (i.e., NIES No. 13
and IAEA-086) that were within the certified range. In comparison to conventional
graphite-furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometry (GF-AAS), we found that
our method obtained statistically equivalent results. Because total analysis
time per sample was less than 10 min, the Comb-AAS method was in fact much faster
than the GF-AAS method. In addition, Comb-AAS does not generate waste products
and could be mainly useful for the analysis of a large amount of samples. Then,
the authors suggest that this quick method could be useful for measuring mercury
in human hair. Therefore, the mercury content in hair for a non-exposed group
of children (n = 40) living in Spain was evaluated. The mean and median hair
mercury levels for the subjects under study were found to be lower than the
value of 1 µg/g, corresponding to the reference dose of 0.1 µg of
methylmercury per kilogram body weight set by the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency.
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