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A simple method for rapid extraction and determination of ultra trace amounts of mercury(II) ions using octadecyl-bonded silica membrane disks modified with hexathia-18-crown-6-tetraone and cold vapour atomic absorption spectrometry (CVAAS) is presented. Extraction efficiency and the influence of flow rates, pH, and type and smallest amount of stripping acid were evaluated. Maximum capacity of the membrane disks modified by 10mg of the crown ether was found to be 241μg Hg²⁺ ions. The limit of detection of the proposed method is 6ng per 1000ml. The method was applied to the recovery of Hg²⁺ ions from synthetic samples and four different water samples.