EN
A solvent-free, easy, fast and waste-free
methodology was developed for the determination of
total mercury levels in hair and nails. Samples were
taken from several volunteers and directly analysed, with
levels of mercury in the range between 0.5 and 8 ng/mg.
The influence of quantity of hair, as well as the addition
of small amount of solvent and the necessity of previous
treatment were studied. Also, a history of mercury
exposure was provided by the distance of the hair from
the scalp of each volunteer, the results of which were
correlated with fish consumption. Furthermore, a short
study of mercury in nails was carried out and correlated
to the results from hair mercury levels. A small quantity
of 5 mg of hair with an addition of 50 μL of water to the
sample without previous treatment was adequate to get a
representative result in less than 10 minutes. The accuracy
of the proposed method was confirmed by analysing
certified reference materials including Coal Fly Ash-NIST
SRM 1633b, Fucus-IAEA 140 and three unpolished Rice
Flour NIES-10. The observed results were found to be in
good agreement with the certified values.