1. Clean Sampling of Mercury
EPA Region VI Pretreatment Conference
Lisa Ellington and Ashley Barr
Paragould Light, Water and Cable
August 13, 2008

2. Reference
EPA Method 1669
Sampling Ambient Water for Trace Metals at EPA Water Quality Criteria Levels
Applicable to the following metals
Antimony
Arsenic
Cadmium
Chromium (III)
Chromium (VI)
Copper
Lead
Mercury
Nickel
Selenium
Silver
Thallium
Zinc

4. Protects sample from becoming contaminated Tyvek Coveralls
Spunbonded Olefin Fiber
Flexible
Hood, elastic wrists, booties
Lab Safety Supply
Catalog #8BB148823

5. Keeps sampling personnel from breathing directly into sample
Filtering facepiece
Latex free
Lab Safety Supply
Catalog #8BB124269

6. Aids in the prevention of sample contamination
Latex, powder-free gloves
Microflex
Catalog #EV-2050

7. Sample bottle should be double-bagged
“Dirty” hands touches the outside bag only
“Clean” hands touches inner bag and bottle

8. Other Items Needed Field Blank Trip Blank Sampling Device
Bottle filled with Hg free water
Exposed to same atmosphere as sample
Trip Blank
Do nothing with this bottle
Sampling Device
Plastic Sheeting

9. Sampling Procedure Don appropriate equipment
Coveralls
Mask
Gloves
Gather necessary items for sampling
“Dirty” hands
One pair of gloves
Sample bottle
Field blank
Sampling device

10. Sampling Procedure - continued
“Clean” hands
Three to four pair of gloves
Inner sampling bag
Sample bottle
Field blank
Grab Samples
Total of four
Date and time
Flow
Contract lab composites

11. Sampling Procedure - continued
Collect samples facing upstream and upwind when possible
Samples can be collected on land or from a boat
Grab technique used for surface samples
Subsurface samples collected by suction or pumping

12. Questions?