Mercury in geological materials from Bulgaria: Significance, applications, new analytical capabilities, and initial results

The chemical properties of mercury (Hg) such as volatility, organic affinity, multiple oxidation states and extreme biotoxicity, determine its various industrial applications, but also health hazard concerns. Mercury data on geologic materials are important for characterizing the main sources and sinks of Hg, for tracking volcanic activity in the geology past, for refining regional and global stratigraphic correlations, and for minimizing anthropogenic mercury emissions. Newly obtained Hg and CHNS analyzers available at the Geological Institute at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, facilitate new geologic and environmental research in Bulgaria. Here we show initial results for the accuracy and precision of our Hg analyses based on repeated measurements of certified reference material NIST 2702 and identify avenues for further analytical improvements. The encouraging results allow for the initiation of diverse geological and ecological studies that are needed, but currently lacking in Bulgaria.