One of the peculiarities of mercury is its high volatility, which favours its natural release into the atmosphere from soil surface. Specific flux chambers can be used to monitor this process. The chambers are coupled with the Lumex RA915-M portable gaseous mercury analyser, which uses an internal pump to move air through the chamber. Based on the variation in gaseous mercury concentrations in the headspace of the chamber, recorded in real time by the analyser, it is possible to calculate the flux of the contaminant from the confined surface. Thanks to the speed of measurement, the non-stationary flux chamber (“accumulation chamber”) technique can be applied to map diffuse mercury emissions from soils at contaminated sites, in accordance with the provisions of SNPA Guidelines 15-2018.
