Determination of the mercury content of lichens and comparison to atmospheric mercury levels in the South African highveld region

dc.contributor.authorTrue, Andreas
dc.contributor.authorPanichev, Nickolay
dc.contributor.authorOkonkwo, Jonathan O.
dc.contributor.authorForbes, Patricia B.C.
dc.contributor.emailpatricia.forbes@up.ac.zaen
dc.date.accessioned2013-04-05T17:06:34Z
dc.date.available2013-04-05T17:06:34Z
dc.date.issued2012-06
dc.description.abstractThe concentration of mercury vapour in ambient air is routinely determined using specialised instruments. As an economical alternative, actively pumped Hopcalite sorbent tubes can be used to trap atmospheric mercury, which is subsequently analysed by cold vapour atomic absorption spectroscopy. Plant materials are also readily available in most regions and can be analysed to obtain information on time averaged atmospheric mercury levels. Lichen and tree bark samples were collected in the cities of Pretoria and Witbank, dried and acid digested with subsequent cold vapour atomic absorption spectroscopy. Average mercury concentrations ranging from 74 to 193 µg.kg-1 were found in lichens from three Pretoria suburbs, whilst average Hg levels of 228 µg.kg-1 were determined in lichens collected in Witbank. The average mercury concentration in tree bark was consistently lower than in lichens, with concentrations between 28 and 72 µg.kg-1 determined in samples from three Pretoria suburbs and 75 µg.kg-1 determined in samples taken in Witbank. This study is the first in South Africa to determine mercury levels in lichens and tree bark. Average total gaseous mercury concentrations in ambient air at the three Pretoria suburban sites, as determined by a semi-continuous spectroscopic method using Hopcalite sampling, ranged between 1.6 and 2.5 ng.m-3, while an average of 1.7 ng.m-3 was measured in Witbank over the sampling interval.en
dc.description.librarianam2013en
dc.description.librarianai2013en
dc.description.sponsorshipThe work was funded by the CSIR Strategic Research Panel and a National Research Foundation / Norway collaborative project.en
dc.description.urihttp://www.journals.co.za/ej/ejour_cleanair.htmlen
dc.identifier.citationTrue, A, Panichev, N, Okonkwo, J & Forbes, PBC 2012, 'Determination of the mercury content of lichens and comparison to atmospheric mercury levels in the South African highveld region', Clean Air Journal, vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 19-25.en
dc.identifier.issn1017-1703
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/21254
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherNACAen
dc.rightsNACAen
dc.subjectHgen
dc.subjectHopcaliteen
dc.subjectMicrowave digestionen
dc.subjectTree barken
dc.subjectCold vapour atomic absorption spectroscopyen
dc.subject.lcshAtmospheric mercury -- South Africa -- Pretoriaen
dc.subject.lcshAtmospheric mercury -- South Africa -- Witbanken
dc.subject.lcshLichens -- South Africaen
dc.subject.lcshBark -- South Africaen
dc.subject.lcshAtomic absorption spectroscopyen
dc.subject.lcshMercury -- Environmental aspects -- South Africaen
dc.subject.lcshPollution -- South Africa -- Pretoriaen
dc.subject.lcshPollution -- South Africa -- Witbanken
dc.titleDetermination of the mercury content of lichens and comparison to atmospheric mercury levels in the South African highveld regionen
dc.typeArticleen

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