Wolfgang Frech

Mercury species transformations during sample pre-treatment of biological tissues studied by HPLC-ICP-MS

A high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) system with a C18 column and an aqueous phase eluent (0.08% ammonium acetate and 0.02% L-cysteine) was directly connected to an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS). HPLC-ICP-MS was used to study the abiotic formation of methylmercury, CH3Hg+, from inorganic mercury, Hg2+, as well as demethylation of CH3Hg+ to Hg2+ in biological tissues during treatment with tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) followed by pH adjustment with citric or acetic acid. Enriched isotope standards from CH3198Hg+ and 201Hg2+ were added to the samples to monitor species transformation and to apply species-specific isotope dilution (SSID) calibration. Depending on the type of sample matrix, up to 11.5% of added Hg2+ was methylated and up to 6.26% CH3Hg+ was demethylated to Hg2+. Methylation of Hg2+ probably takes place mainly during and after pH adjustment and it decreases after prolonged TMAH treatment. To minimize abiotic methylation, it is therefore recommended to proceed with pH adjustment after samples have been treated with TMAH for 24 h. There is no significant difference in the degree of methylation using citric or acetic acid.

Flow injection-liquid chromatography-cold vapour atomic absorption spectrometry for rapid determination of methyl and inorganic mercury

A previously described system for determining low concentrations of mercury species in environmental samples using flow injection high-performance liquid chromatography cold vapour atomic absorptio ...

Effects on the nervous system in different groups of workers exposed to aluminium

OBJECTIVE To investigate possible neurotoxic effects in groups of aluminium pot room and foundry workers, aluminium welders, and a small group of workers exposed to aluminium in the production of flake powder. METHODS Exposure to aluminium was evaluated with aluminium concentrations in blood and urine as well as a questionnaire. The groups exposed to aluminium were compared with a group of mild steel welders. Neurotoxic effects were studied with mood and symptom questionnaires and several psychological and neurophysiological tests. RESULTS The pot room and foundry workers showed very low aluminium uptake as their aluminium concentrations in blood and urine were close to normal, and no effects on the nervous system were detected. The group of workers exposed to flake powder had high concentrations of aluminium in blood and urine, even higher than those of the aluminium welders. However, aluminium could not be shown to affect the functioning of the nervous system in flake powder producers. Although significant effects could not be shown in the present analysis of the data on welders, the performance of the welders exposed to high concentrations of aluminium was affected according to the analyses in the original paper from this group. CONCLUSIONS For the pot room and foundry workers no effects related to the exposure to aluminium could be found. For the group of flake powder producers exposed for a short term no effects on the nervous systems were evident despite high levels of exposure. Due to the high concentrations of aluminium in the biological samples of this group, measures to reduce the exposure to aluminium are recommended, as effects on the central nervous system might develop after protracted exposures. However, this assumption needs to be verified in further studies.

The Influence of Sulphate Deposition on the Seasonal Variation of Peat Pore Water Methyl Hg in a Boreal Mire

In this paper we investigate the hypothesis that long-term sulphate (SO4 2−) deposition has made peatlands a larger source of methyl mercury (MeHg) to remote boreal lakes. This was done on experimental plots at a boreal, low sedge mire where the effect of long-term addition of SO4 2− on peat pore water MeHg concentrations was observed weekly throughout the snow-free portion of 1999. The additions of SO4 2− started in 1995. The seasonal mean of the pore water MeHg concentrations on the plots with 17 kg ha−1 yr−1 of sulphur (S) addition (1.3±0.08 ng L−1, SE; n = 44) was significantly (p<0.0001) higher than the mean MeHg concentration on the plots with 3 kg ha−1 yr−1 of ambient S deposition (0.6±0.02 ng L−1, SE; n = 44). The temporal variation in pore water MeHg concentrations during the snow free season was larger in the S-addition plots, with an amplitude of >2 ng L−1 compared to +/−0.5 ng L−1 in the ambient S deposition plots. The concentrations of pore water MeHg in the S-addition plots were positively correlated (r2 = 0.21; p = 0.001) to the groundwater level, with the lowest concentrations of MeHg during the period with the lowest groundwater levels. The pore water MeHg concentrations were not correlated to total Hg, DOC concentration or pH. The results from this study indicate that the persistently higher pore water concentrations of MeHg in the S-addition plots are caused by the long-term additions of SO4 2− to the mire surface. Since these waters are an important source of runoff, the results support the hypothesis that SO4 2− deposition has increased the contribution of peatlands to MeHg in downstream aquatic systems. This would mean that the increased deposition of SO4 2− in acid rain has contributed to the modern increase in the MeHg burdens of remote lakes hydrologically connected to peatlands.

A simple method for synthesis of organotin species to investigate extraction procedures in sediments by isotope dilution gas chromatography-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

A method for the synthesis of butyltin species, based on the butylation of tin iodide in diethyl ether, was developed. A standard of 116Sn enriched monobutyltin (MBT), dibutyltin (DBT), tributyltin ...

Formation Dynamics of Absorbing Layers in a Two‐Stage Atomizer

An experimental spatial‐resolution facility for recording the formation dynamics of absorbing layers in a two‐stage atomizer is described. An optical scheme with a convergent raying beam in the atomizer zone and a hollow cathode as a radiation source is considered. The dynamics of the absorptivity signal at evaporation of Rb, NaCl, and a standard sample CASS‐2 has been investigated under different operating conditions of the atomizer. It is shown that the proposed evaporation–condensation–atomization regime considerably lowers the spatial gradients of absorptivity and the level of nonselective absorption in recording the atomic absorption signal.