Research Project Summary: Analysis of Mercury Species in New Jersey Ground Water Using Inductively Coupled Plasma - Mass Spectrometry and Gas Chromatography

Water samples from 78 private potable wells in southern New Jersey were collected for mercury analysis in 1991-1992. The wells are located in Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape Map and Ocean Counties. Total mercury concentrations varied from 1 ng/L to over 36 Fg/L. The dominant form in which mercury occurred in the wells sampled was inorganic, although monomethylmercury was present in some wells comprising up to 8% of the total mercury in one ground-water sample. Mercury analyses performed using the EPA Method 245.1 should be interpreted with caution. While this method is generally suited for analyzing waters having elevated mercury concentrations (total mercury levels above 2000 ng/L or 2 ug/L), it is less sensitive and even inadequate for characterizing background mercury levels.This work was funded by the A-280 Safe Drinking Water Research Program