A Real-Time System for Volatile Toxin Measurements

描述（由申请人提供）：拟议研究的目标是将紧凑型可调谐紫外（UV）激光系统与紧凑型喷气- rempi飞行时间质谱仪耦合在一起，以便为污染地点挥发性有害物质的蒸气的实时浓度测量提供可现场系统。通过允许在几秒钟内进行快速气相测量，该技术提供了对危险废物场地修复进度的实时连续监测，并促进了场地内废物分布的快速测绘，而无需长时间挖掘和分析多个土壤样本。此外，由于环境条件和废物羽流迁移，可以监测场址内的出气量变化，从而监测邻近社区对场地排出的有害空气污染物的时变暴露。jet-REMPI技术已经被证明是一种强大的技术，可以在实验室中测量各种有害空气污染物，具有出色的灵敏度和化学特异性。通过将分子质量测量与光谱学相结合，该技术甚至可以在多种污染物的复杂混合物中提供精确的测量，例如在现实世界中发现的污染物。他的项目第一阶段的目标是将这项有前途的技术从实验室中提取出来，并生产出一种可以进行有意义的现场测量的设备。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of the proposed research is to couple a compact tunable ultraviolet (UV) laser system with a compact jet-REMPI time-of-flight mass spectrometer in order to provide a fieldable system for real-time concentration measurements of vapors from volatile hazardous species over contaminated sites. By allowing rapid vapor phase measurements in a matter of seconds, this technique provides real-time continuous monitoring of hazardous waste site remediation progress, and facilitates rapid mapping of waste distribution within a site, without the need for lengthy excavation and analysis of multiple soil samples. In addition, the time-varying exposure of neighboring communities to hazardous air pollutants out-gassing from the site can be monitored as out-gassing rates within the site change due to environmental conditions and waste plume migration. The jet-REMPI technique has already proven a powerful technique for measuring a variety of hazardous air pollutants with excellent sensitivity and chemical specificity in the laboratory. By coupling molecular mass measurement with optical spectroscopy, the technique can provide accurate measurements even in complex mixtures of multiple pollutants such as those found in real-world sites. The Phase I targets of his project will take this promising technology from the laboratory and yield a device that can make meaningful field measurements.