Abstract
Three analytical methods using automatic mercury analyzer (AMA), direct mercury analyzer (DMA) and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) were applied to determine mercury in fish and sediment samples from the Volta Lake in Ghana with the aim of comparing their accuracy, precision, and limit of quantifications. There was statistically no significant difference (p < 0.05) between the concentrations recorded by the methods. This indicates their suitability for the accurate determination of mercury. Limit of quantification was found to be in the order; ICP-MS (0.053 ng/g) < DMA (0.527 ng/g) < AMA (2.193 ng/g). Though each of the three methods has a suitable ability in determining accurately the concentrations of mercury in fish and sediment, for the determination of very low concentrations of mercury ICP-MS should be preferred considering the order of the detection limit which follows the trend ICP-MS (0.016 ng/g) < DMA (0.158 ng/g) < AMA (0.509 ng/g).
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Acknowledgments
The technical assistance of the entire members of the analytical and instrumentation laboratory of the Department of Chemistry, KNUST, Kumasi Ghana is highly appreciated. The scholarship from the University of Michigan African Presidential Scholars Program (UMAPS), African Study Centre (ASC), University of Michigan to E.E. Kwaansa-Ansah to enable him carrying out the analysis in the USA is also highly acknowledged. Finally, the entire staff of the ASC and the members of the laboratory group at the Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Michigan are also acknowledged for their academic and technical support. Funding was provided by National Council for tertiary Education (NTCE) (Grant No. TALIF-KNUSTR/3/005/2005).
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Kwaansa-Ansah, E.E., Adimado, A.A., Nriagu, J.O. et al. Comparison of Three Analytical Methods for the Quantitation of Mercury in Environmental Samples from the Volta Lake, Ghana. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 97, 677–683 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-016-1920-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-016-1920-6