title: Mercury speciation in highly contaminated soils from chlor-alkali plants using chemical extractions.
abstract: A four-step novel sequential extraction procedure (SEP) was developed to assess Hg fractionation and mobility in three highly contaminated soils from chlor-alkali plants (CAPs). The SEP was validated using a certified reference material (CRM) and pure Hg compounds. Total, volatile, and methyl Hg concentrations were also determined using single extractions. Mercury was separated into four fractions defined as water-soluble (F1), exchangeable (F2) (0.5 M NH4Ac-EDTA and 1 M CaCl2 were tested), organic (F3) (successive extractions with 0.2 M NaOH and CH3COOH 4% [v/v]), and residual (F4) (HNO3 + H2SO4 + HClO4). The soil characterization revealed extremely contaminated (295 +/- 18 to 11 500 +/- 500 mg Hg kg(-1)) coarse-grained sandy soils having an alkaline pH (7.9-9.1), high chloride concentrations (5-35 mg kg(-1)), and very low organic carbon content (0.00-18.2 g kg(-1)). Methyl Hg concentrations were low (0.2-19.3 microg kg(-1)) in all soils. Sequential extractions indicated that the majority of the Hg was associated with the residual fraction (F4). In Soils 1 and 3, however, high percentages (88-98%) of the total Hg were present as volatile Hg. Therefore, in these two soils, a high proportion of volatile Hg was present in the residual fraction. The nonresidual fraction (F1 + F2 + F3) was most abundant in Soil 1 (14-42%), suggesting a higher availability of Hg in this soil. The developed and validated SEP was reproducible and efficient for highly contaminated samples. Recovery ranged between 93 and 98% for the CRM and 70 and 130% for the CAP-contaminated soils.
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil, Geological and Mining Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique de Montréal, P.O. Box 6079, Station Centre-ville, Montreal, QC, Canada H3C 3A7.
authors.forename: Carmen-Mihaela
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Neculita
authors.forename: Gérald J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Zagury
authors.forename: Louise
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Deschênes
mesh_terms: D002617:Chemical Industry; D002623:Chemistry Techniques, Analytical; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008628:Mercury / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry*; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D012989:Soil Pollutants; D008628:Mercury