Hg content was analyzed in both plants and soils. Approximately 0.5 g of plant material (dry weight basis) was subjected to microwave-assisted digestion using an HNO3/H2O2 acid mixture
(5 + 2 mL) (Jedrzejczak, 1996). In the same manner, 0.5 g of soil (dry weight basis) was microwave digested using 10 mL of 65% HNO3 solution according to the EPA method 3051A (USEPA,
2007). The microwave oven used was a Milestone ETHOS TOUCH 127697series with a temperature range of 100–175 C and a pressure of 1500 kPa.