SR EN ISO 12846:2012

ISO 12846:2012 specifies two methods for the determination of mercury in drinking, surface, ground, rain and waste water after appropriate pre-digestion. For the first method, an enrichment step by amalgamation of the Hg on, for example, a gold/platinum adsorber is used. For the second method, the enrichment step is omitted. The choice of method depends on the equipment available, the matrix and the concentration range of interest. Both methods are suitable for the determination of mercury in water. The method with enrichment commonly has a practical working range from 0,01 µg/l to 1 µg/l. The mean limit of quantification (LOQ) reported by the participants of the validation trial was 0,008 µg/l. This information on the LOQ gives the user of ISO 12846:2012 an orientation and does not replace the estimation of performance data from laboratory specific data. It has to be considered that it is possible to achieve lower LOQs with specific instrumentation (e.g. single mercury analysers). The method without enrichment commonly has a practical working range starting at 0,05 µg/l. The