Mercury in Ambient Air, Workroom Air and Stack Gas Applications

PSA employs Atomic Fluorescence Spectrometry (AFS) instruments that offer leading performance in terms of limits of detection, wide working ranges & freedom from interferences. These attributes, combined with our novel sampling systems (both online and active sampling), our hallmarked robustness & ease of use, make PSA your first choice for mercury determinations in ambient, workroom air and stack gas applications.

AFS Online Ambient Air Monitoring and Analysis

Mercury in ambient air is now routinely measured in both urban and rural sites due to the toxicity and mobility.

Mercury analysers are deployed within monitoring stations which are designed for fixed, long periods of unattended operation.

Ambient air sampling usually involves looking for lower concentrations (0.5 to 5ng/m³) of mercury which do not tend to change significantly over time (except in cases of sudden pollution). Sampling times are typically 5 to 30mins for online measurements (daily-to-monthly) for remote lengthy sample data sets.

A typical Hg monitor system consists of a computer, PSA 10.525 Sir Galahad, PSA S66S5200 series Stream Selection Unit, PSA 10.536 series Hg Vapour Generator and pump/control modules. The actual analysers system determines Total Gaseous Mercury (TGM).

AFS Online Workroom Air Monitoring and Analysis

The health effects that can be caused by breathing mercury depend on how much mercury vapour you breathe and how long you breathe these vapours. The well documented health impacts can result from both short-term and long-term mercury exposure.

There is often the potential of high concentrations of mercury vapour in localised industries e.g. during Hg recovery/recycling or in other manufacturing processes. Real time results and alarms are required to protect workers from potential Hg vapour exposure.

For workplace air monitoring, the Hg levels are generally higher (0-50µg/m³) and more prone to sudden fluctuations. Therefore, shorter sampling times are used with a higher frequency of sampling. The PSA 10.216 workroom air monitor includes an automatic calibration, validation and multi-channel operation with preset alarm facilities.

Active Air sampling – Air Sentinel

The Air Sentinel (PSA - G525S100) is an unattended, active air sampling device that has been developed in response to a demand for a better approach compared to traditional passive samplers.

The ambient sample is actively pumped over PSA’s gold Amasil™ traps to preconcentrate any Hg that may be present. Depending on the location remoteness and other requirements, the system may be powered by a combination of normal mains power and/or a rechargeable battery with solar panel options

Once the sample is collected, the Amasil gold traps are returned to the laboratory for analysis using the Sir Galahad (II) AFS. The sample volume is automatically calculated and populated to the analyser and the non-destructive analytical process is rapid (<5mins). This allows the gold traps to be reused for multiple deployments.

With faster sampling rates, and accurate sampling volumes that are NOT affected by weather conditions (temperature, pressure, humidity, etc), and a range of power options, the Air Sentinel offers some real benefits in air pollutant monitoring capability.

This Air Sentinel has been designed to collect total gaseous mercury, as well as elemental and oxidised forms. Other parameters of interest may also be collected, such as particulates, VOCs, and dioxins with judicious choice of filter or absorbent material.

The Air Sentinel may be deployed in remote areas (as well as in urban and built-up environments for activities such as fence-line monitoring, point source pollution events and even volcanic activity.