Mercury in air and plant specimens in herbaria: a pilot study at the MAF Herbarium in Madrid (Spain).

We present data from a study of mercury concentrations in air and plant specimens from the MAF Herbarium in Madrid (Spain). Hg (gas) emissions from old plant collections treated with mercuric chloride (HgCl(2)) in herbaria may pose a health risk for staff working in installations of this type. This is an issue not yet properly addressed. Plants that underwent insecticide treatment with HgCl(2) at the MAF Herbarium until the mid 1970s have persistent high concentrations of Hg in the range 1093-11,967 microg g(-1), whereas untreated specimens are in the range of 1.2-4.3 microg g(-1). The first group induces high concentrations of Hg (gas) in the main herbarium room, with seasonal variations of 404-727 ng m(-3) (late winter) and 748-7797 ng m(-3) (early summer) (baseline for Hg: 8 ng m(-3)). A test survey at another herbarium in Madrid showed even higher concentrations of Hg (gas) above 40,000 ng m(-3). The World Health Organization guidelines for chronic exposure to Hg (gas) are estimated at a maximum of 1000 ng m(-3). While staff was aware of the existence of HgCl(2) treated plants (the plant specimen sheets are labelled as 'poisoned'), they had no knowledge of the presence of high Hg (gas) concentrations in the buildings, a situation that may be relatively common in herbaria.