Evaluation

Mercury and its compounds exist in three general forms:

• Elemental (or metallic).
• Inorganic. Mercury can combine with other elements (mainly chlorine, sulfur, and oxygen) to form inorganic mercury compounds.
• Organic. Mercury may combine with carbon or carbon-containing substances to make organic mercury compounds. These organic compounds are further divided between alkyl (carbon-chain) and aryl (aromatic ring) groups.

The respective methods for sampling the different forms of mercury are:

Elemental

• OSHA Occupational Chemical Database. OSHA's premier one-stop shop for occupational chemical information. It compiles information from several government agencies and organizations. Information available on the pages includes chemical identification and physical properties, exposure limits, sampling information, and additional resources.
  • Mercury (Vapor)
• Mercury. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Manual of Analytical Methods (NMAM) Method 6009, (August 15, 1994). Describes the elemental mercury vapor sampling and measurement.

Aryl and Inorganic

• Mercury (Aryl & Inorganic Compunds). OSHA Occupational Chemical Database.
• Particulate Mercury in Workplace Atmospheres. OSHA Method ID-145, (December 1989). Describes the collection of airborne particulate mercury on 0.8-µm mixed-cellulose ester membrane filters and the subsequent analysis using a cold vapor-atomic absorption spectrophotometer.

Organomercury (Alkyl Compounds)

• Mercury (organo) Alkyl Compounds. OSHA Occupational Chemical Database.