A new CRM called ORMS-2, a river water spiked with inorganic mercury, has been released by Chemical Metrology. In Canada, NSERC recently contributed 12.6 million dollars to create a Collaborative Mercury Research Network (COMERN). The aim of this group of investigators, composed largely of University and Government agencies, is to provide an integrated research effort to improve our general understanding of how mercury is transmitted and accumulates in the ecosystem. Likewise, the USEPA has released a draft version of its Mercury Research Strategy. The purpose of this document is to guide the EPA mercury research program by identifying key scientific questions and the research programs that can be expected to provide the answers. Both of these programs require the measurement of Hg at ambient levels in environmental samples and it is hoped ORMS-2 will assist in assuring the quality of these measurements.
In order to assure a reasonable shelf life of ORMS-2, various packaging strategies were evaluated and stability studies were carried out over a period of three years before the CRM was released. Bromine monochloride (0.5%) was found to be adequate to preserve the Hg in solution and packaging the liquid in flame sealed glass ampoules provided the necessary conditions for long term stability. |
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