Mercury spectrometer, Barringer airborne

Measurements were made to demonstrate that a portable detector could he used to detect anomalous concentrations of elemental mercury in the air near sites where mercury had been reported in water, sediment, and fish. The Barringer airborne mercury spectrometer was installed in a car, bus, boat, or helicopter. Measurement traverses were made to locate, quantify, and map the anomalous mercury plumes. 

The objectives of the program were assessing the applicability of the Barringer airborne mercury spectrometer (BAMS) to the rapid and efficient measurement of elemental mercury concentrations in air at the submicrogram/cubic meter level and relating the airborne mercury concentration measurements to mercury pollution in water. 

The equipment used was a Barringer airborne mercury spectrometer (BAMS, Figure 1), an atomic absorption spectrophotometer specifically designed and built to isolate the 2536.5-A emission and absorption spectrum characteristic of atomic mercury vapor. The equipment was originally developed for mineral exploration purposes and for analysis of laboratory soil samples subsequent design improvements led to the rapid response time (1 sec) and high resolution (nanogram per cubic meter) required for airborne use (1). 

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