Abstract:As a heavy metal pollutant, mercury is widely distributed in environment, particularly in soil. Soil mercury could accumulate in the soil organisms and human through various exposure routes, posing potential risks to soil ecological safety and human health. The accurate detection of mercury contents in soil is crucial for preventing soil pollution and protecting human health. This study presented a method for the determination of mercury contents in soil using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) with a dynamic reaction cell (DRC) technique. The DRC technique was utilized with oxygen to eliminate the mass spectral interference of tungsten oxide (WO) on the determination of 202Hg by optimizing the oxygen flow rate and the side reaction inhibition parameter (RPq). Under the optimal experimental conditions, the linear relationship of Hg concentration in the range of 0~5 μg/L was satisfactory with 0.9999 of linear correlation coefficient, 0.001 mg/kg of the detection limit, 93.5%~99.3% of recoveries, and 2.3% of the accuracy of six analyses. This method was used for the determination of certified reference material of soil GSS-38, which were consistent with the certified values. This method effectively eliminates mass spectrometry interference of WO during the determination of mercury content, which can be widely applied for accurate mercury quantification in soil.