Annotation paper Interference by volatile nitrogen oxides in the determination of mercury by flow injection cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry.

The determination of mercury by the title method with sodium tetrahydroborate as reducing agent can be interfered with by volatile nitrogen oxides which inhibit the reduction of mercury by scavenging the reducing agent. The nitrogen oxides are formed as reduction products of nitric acid during sample decomposition. The interference effect was encountered in the determination of mercury in sewage sludge digests, and the main symptom was poor reproducibility of the shape of the mercury peak. The area of the mercury peak is more resistant to the interference than the peak height. The nitrogen oxide interference did not cause any systematic error in the mercury determination when calibration was done by standard addition. The interference can be easily remedied by purging the sample with argon.