Mercury is considered to be one of the most toxic elements to humans. Due to pollution from industry and artisanal gold mining, mercury species are present globally in waters used for agriculture, aquaculture, and drinking water. This review summarises methods reported for preserving mercury species in water samples and highlights the associated hazards and issues with each. This includes the handling of acids in an uncontrolled environment, breakage of sample containers, and the collection and transport of sample volumes in excess of 1 L, all of which pose difficulties for both in situ collection and transportation. Literature related to aqueous mercury preservation from 2000–2021 was reviewed, as well as any commonly cited and relevant references. Amongst others, solid-phase extraction techniques were explored for preservation and preconcentration of total and speciated mercury in water samples. Additionally, the potential as a safe, in situ preservation and storage method for mercury species were summarised. The review highlighted that the stability of mercury is increased when adsorbed on a solid-phase and therefore the metal and its species can be preserved without the need for hazardous reagents or materials in the field. The mercury species can then be eluted upon return to a laboratory, where sensitive analytical detection and speciation methods can be better applied. Developments in solid phase extraction as a preservation method for unstable metals such as mercury will improve the quality of representative environmental data, and further improve toxicology and environmental monitoring studies.

中文翻译：

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水银保存的现状和未来：回顾

汞被认为是对人类毒性最大的元素之一。由于工业和手工采金业造成的污染，汞物种存在于全球范围内用于农业、水产养殖和饮用水中。本综述总结了已报告的用于保存水样中汞物种的方法，并强调了每种方法的相关危害和问题。这包括在不受控制的环境中处理酸、样品容器破损以及样品体积超过 1 L 的收集和运输，所有这些都对原位和收集和运输。回顾了 2000 年至 2021 年与含水汞保存相关的文献，以及任何经常被引用和相关的参考文献。其中，探索了固相萃取技术以保存和预浓缩水样中的总汞和形态汞。此外，作为一个安全的，在原位的潜力总结了汞物种的保存和储存方法。审查强调，当汞吸附在固相上时，稳定性会增加，因此可以保存金属及其物种，而无需在现场使用危险的试剂或材料。然后可以在返回实验室时洗脱汞物质，在那里可以更好地应用灵敏的分析检测和形态分析方法。固相萃取作为一种不稳定金属（如汞）的保存方法的发展将提高代表性环境数据的质量，并进一步改进毒理学和环境监测研究。