What Is Mercury?

What is Mercury?

Mercury is widely used in our daily lives. Mercury is broadly divided into three chemical forms: metallic mercury, inorganic mercury and organic mercury (R-Hg+). Methylmercury (MeHg) is considered a special organic mercury produced in the natural environment. The three chemical forms are converted into one another in the natural environment.

Mercury in the Natural Environment

Throughout the long history of the Earth, mercury emerges from beneath the Earth's crust to the surface through volcanic eruptions. Mercury is currently widely distributed in the environment as air, water and soil. Mercury compounds circulate throughout the entire environment, including evaporation from the land and sea surface into the air and deposition from the atmosphere to the sea and land. The dominant chemical form of mercury in the environment is inorganic and metallic mercury.

How Does Mercury Enter the Human Body?

Among mercury types, methylmercury (MeHg) and metallic mercury vapor enter the human body easily through the gastrointestinal system and lungs, respectively. MeHg binds to cysteine to form a complex whose structure resembles methionine, an essential amino acid, and is subsequently incorporated into tissues including the brain and fetus via an amino acid carrier. Metallic mercury vapor from dental amalgams is thought to be produced, but the body burden of metallic mercury produced from amalgams may be relatively low.

The Fate of Methylmercury in the Body

Methylmercury (MeHg), after being absorbed through the gastrointestinal system, is distributed to various organs in the body, with high accumulation observed in the liver and kidneys. Although the blood-brain barrier protects the brain against xenobiotic toxic substances, the MeHg-cysteine complex easily passes through the barrier. On the other hand, MeHg is eliminated from the human body and the average daily elimination rate is 1.4%, resulting in a biological half-life of 50 to 70 days. Since part of MeHg is taken up by hair protein, hair (thanks to mercury in hair) can traditionally be used to estimate MeHg exposure levels.

Pregnant Women Should Pay Special Attention to Mercury Exposure

The placenta serves to filter toxic substances in the mother's blood from entering the fetus. However, MeHg easily passes through the placenta as a cysteine-conjugate and accumulates in the fetus. Since the development of fetal nerve tissue is most sensitive to MeHg, the Japanese Food Safety Commission established in 2005 that the safe exposure level for pregnant women is 2 μg/kg/week (PTWI, Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake). This corresponds to approximately 2.8 ppm hair mercury level. The PTWI was calculated using 11 ppm maternal hair level, considered the highest level without adverse effects on the fetus, and an uncertainty factor of 4. Research on MeHg fetal effects at low levels continues.

Amount from Seafood

MeHg is produced from inorganic mercury in the aquatic environment by microorganisms and subsequently accumulates in marine organisms through the food chain. Accordingly, the primary route of human exposure to MeHg is the normal consumption of fish and shellfish. However, there is a wide variation in mercury levels among species. Large predatory fish, including tuna, swordfish and sharks, generally contain MeHg at high concentrations. Marine mammals, including toothed whales and dolphins, also show high levels. Pregnant women are advised to avoid excessive consumption of such fish, as the developing nervous system of the fetus is quite sensitive to MeHg. Since fish and shellfish are also rich in valuable nutrients, appropriate seafood consumption is beneficial for promoting child growth and maintaining health.

MA-3 Solo Mercury Analyzer

Designed for economical use with a wide measurement range and robust design, the MA-3 Solo features a special "quick twist" lock system that provides robust and easy sample loading. The MA-3 Solo has a wide measurement range between 0 and 10,000 ng with rapid analysis time of 5 to 12 minutes.

Low Operating Costs - No Gas or Consumables Required

The MA-3 Solo is designed to be as simple as possible to use. Unlike other systems requiring purified oxygen gas, purified air is used as combustion and carrier gas. This design concept makes the instrument ideal for use in field portable work or mobile laboratories. Ceramic sample crucibles are easily cleaned for reuse. The absence of gas requirements and reusable crucibles keep operating costs low.

Advanced Optical System for Superior Sensitivity and Stability

Using a high-quality, thermally stabilized Hg-discharge lamp that provides very strong, stable emission at 253.7 nm, the design eliminates the need for intense optical filtering of the source. Two durable semiconductor detectors provide quantitative and reference measurements for long-lasting, trouble-free operation. The MA-3 Solo uses high-quality optical gratings to direct full intensity from the sample cell and reference detector to provide superior sensitivity and stability.

Real-Time Continuous Diagnostics

The MA-3 Solo software continuously monitors critical fault diagnostics such as all heater temperatures, flow rates, valve activations and voltages. This allows the software to automatically alert the user when a problem occurs, additionally providing fast and reliable time-saving and reliability.

Compact, Lightweight Design for Portability

Designed for portability, the MA-3 Solo has an integral ergonomic handle and weighs only 13 kg (~28 lbs). It can operate on any standard single-phase wall outlet between 100 and 240 VAC (50/60 Hz). Its robust design is perfect for use in field work or mobile laboratories.

Windows-Based and User-Friendly Graphical Software

The modern software of the MA-3 Solo, operating under the Microsoft Windows operating system, offers intuitive use and real-time measurement tracking experience.     Bircan Bozkaya Environmental Engineer Product Manager Trio Teknik Cihazlar