Determination of total mercury and monomethylmercury compounds in water samples from Minamata Bay, Japan: an interlaboratory comparative study of different analytical techniques

Concentration levels of mercury and its organic compounds in natural water samples are very low, so accurate analysis is still a major problem. To ensure the validity of such measurements a proper quality control/quality assurance programme should be implemented. In the absence of reference materials, the best way to check the accuracy of the results is through interlaboratory comparisons and comparisons of the results obtained by different analytical methods. The purpose of the present work was to compare independent analytical techniques used by two different laboratories for determination of total mercury (Hg-T) and monomethylmercury compounds (MeHg) in seawater samples from Minamata Bay, Japan. The interlaboratory study was carried out between the Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia and the National Institute for Minamata Disease, Minamata, Japan. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.