An important factor to consider in remediation is the stability of the spent sorbent. For instance, it is important that the mercury does not leach during the transport and storage of the spent sorbent. To evaluate desorption of mercury from the spent sorbent, 4.00 g of the poly(S-rlimonene)-coated silica was added to a 200 mL aqueous solution of HgCl2 (20 ppm). The mixture was stirred for 10 minutes and then the sorbent was isolated by filtration and dried under vacuum. Based on the mercury remaining in the water (as determined by CVAAS), the spent sorbent bound 1.03 mg Hg 2+ per gram of sorbent. To evaluate leaching, 500 mg portions of the spent sorbent was added to separate 50 mL aqueous solutions of varying pH and sodium chloride concentrations (pH = 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 and 6.85 mM or 599 mM NaCl). These seven samples were monitored over 28 days to determine how much mercury leached into the water. Minimal leaching was observed for all samples except for the sample at pH = 11 (Figs. and). After 28 days, approximately 3% of the bound mercury had leached into the basic solution at pH = 11.