WITHDRAWN: Development of a Solid Phase Extraction-based Method for Quantitative Analysis of Methylmercury in Soil and Sediment

Abstract Methylmercury (MeHg) pollution is currently widespread in paddy soil and sediment, posing a health hazard risk during the harvesting of rice grains. However, to date, a simple and universal method for quantifying MeHg in the soil is unavailable. Therefore, we aimed to develop a solid-phase extraction-based method using gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). In this study, MeHg was purified from the soil matrix using optimized solid-phase extraction; our method reduced the use of organic solvents and did not require harmful reagents such as alkaline solution and toluene. The limit of quantification in the sample was determined to be 7.5 ng/g. The MeHg recovery in reference samples was 96.2–102.6%, and intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation were 3.4–7.1% and 4.3–7.1%, respectively, indicating high validation performance. Furthermore, the MeHg levels of the five tested reference samples were determined to be 64.1 ng/g or not detected, and these levels were well below the Japanese regulatory criteria. This new method could provide reliable and useful data for environmentalists and agriculturalists to prevent MeHg pollution, facilitating the improvement of food safety for harvests from paddy soil.