First mercury reference laboratory is established in Southern Africa

Abstract

In order to investigate and understand the behaviour of mercury in the South African environment, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has established the first Mercury Reference Laboratory at the CSIR in Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa. The laboratory forms part of the Water Ecosystems and Human Health research group, within the Natural Resources and the Environment (NRE) research sector in the CSIR. With this laboratory in operation, a team of CSIR researchers were able to conduct a national survey of mercury in the country’s surface water resources. This investigation was conducted at over sixty sampling sites in all nineteen of South Africa’s water management areas