Determination of Mercury in Living and Non-living Systems

Cinnabar mining for the acquisition of mercury was one of the leading industries in Arkansas

from 1931 into the mid-1940s. Mercury is a persistent bioaccumulative toxin, thus the focus of this

project is to assess the regional impact of historic mining upon waters, soils, and organisms of southwest

Arkansas by evaluating mercury content. Cold-vapor atomic absorption spectrometry is the method

used to determine mercury levels in samples, which are treated in accordance with EPA-established

protocols.