Georgia Southern University requires all students to take a course in environmental science through the chemistry, geology, biology or physics departments. This policy, implemented in 1999 and supported by the National Science Foundation, is aimed at improving scientific literacy and awareness. Implementation required laboratory experiences appropriate for students with minimal science background. We also offer an upper level environmental chemistry course for our majors, and sought to expand its experimental resources. In this work, we report on the successful incorporation of a direct mercury analyzer into the laboratory for both non-majors and majors.

Environmental mercury has been a media topic over the past decade, with particular concern over its bioaccumulation in seafood. However routine analysis in the undergraduate laboratory is lacking owing to experimental challenges with traditional methods. Modern instrumentation alleviates these challenges and makes it possible to bring this relevant topic to the undergraduate laboratory, even for nonmajor students. We present the results for mercury content in various seafood samples obtained by students in an entry-level nonmajors chemistry course via direct mercury analysis and demonstrate how this important environmental contaminant can be easily determined in a meaningful laboratory experience.