2006 - 2007 Measurements of Atmospheric Mercury Species in Halifax, Nova Scotia

J. Dalziel and R. Tordon
Air Quality Sciences, Meteorological Service of Canada, Atlantic Region
Environment Canada, 45 Alderney Drive, Dartmouth, N.S. B2Y 2N6

Environment Canada’s Atlantic Region has been running a sampling program to measure atmospheric mercury species from a site in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia since January 2006. This program was undertaken to determine the levels of gaseous Hg species – elemental mercury (Hg0), reactive gaseous mercury (RGM), and the particulate (Hgp) fine fraction (<2.5 µm) in an air shed impacted by both the local urban and marine environment.

The mercury species data discussed in this poster were collected from an eighteen month period - January 2006 to the end of June 2007. All sampling was carried out using a Tekran integrated sampling and analysis system consisting of the 2537A analyser, the 1130 RGM sampler and the 1135 particulate Hg sampler. This poster will illustrate the trends observed in gaseous Hg species with the on-site meteorological data - winds speed and direction, air temperature, relative humidity and solar radiation.

The data analysis from January 2006 to June 30, 2007 - show for Hg0 (5 minute sampling) having a median of ˜ 1.7 ng/m3 and a range of 0.72 to 46.5 ng/m3; for RGM (3 hour sample) a median of ˜ 2.5 pg/m3 with a range from the detection limit (dl) to 140 pg/m3 and for Hgp (3 hour sample) a median of 1.73 pg/m3 and a range from dl to 31 pg/m3. The median level of RGM and Hgp are a small percentage of the TGM, 0.14% for RGM and 0.10% for Hgp which are similar to levels observed by other researchers.

*Corresponding authors – E-Mail: john.dalziel@ec.gc.ca and rob.tordon@ec.gc.ca