Economic method measures toxic metals in fluids

According to a statement, researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Northwestern University and the University of Michigan found that their new method can measure methyl mercury, the most common form of mercury pollution, at unprecedentedly small concentrations.

The system, which could test for metal toxins in drinking water and fish, is reported in the current edition of Nature Materials.

Methyl mercury dumped in lakes and rivers accumulates in fish, reaching its highest levels in large fish such as tuna and swordfish. Young children and pregnant women are advised to avoid eating these fish because mercury can affect the developing brain and nervous system. While metals in drinking water are measured periodically, these measurements say little about migratory fish, including tuna, which may pass through more polluted areas.

‘The problem is that current monitoring techniques are too expensive and complex,’ said Francesco Stellacci, the Constellium chair holder at EPFL. ‘With a conventional method, you have to send samples to the laboratory, and the analysis equipment costs several million dollars.’