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EMISSION RATES OF MERCURY FROM LATEX PAINTS
Citation:
Tichenor, B., Z. Guo, AND J. Dorsey. EMISSION RATES OF MERCURY FROM LATEX PAINTS. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/A-92/271.
Description:
The paper gives results of tests of latex paints containing organic mercury additives in small environmental test chambers to determine the emission rates of mercury. Five paints were evaluated: two contained phenyl mercuric acetate (PMA); and the other three, different additives. Gypsum wallboard was used as the test substrate. Testing was conducted in the dark and under fluorescent lights to determine if photodegradation of the mercury was occurring. Chamber vapor samples were collected on hopcalite sorbent and analyzed by cold vapor atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) to determine total mercury. A mercury monitor, using gold film amalgamation, was also used. Sampling with graphitized carbon sorbents showed that no organic mercury was emitted. The mercury concentration vs. time data were fit with an nth order source emission model. The results of the study showed high initial emission rates followed by slow emissions over an extended period of time. There was no apparent effect of light. The type of additive may affect the emission rates.