Personal Mercury Monitor for Exposure Measurements

用于测量暴露的个人水银监测器 项目摘要/摘要 石油和天然气行业的工人容易受到有毒汞(Hg)蒸气的影响 压缩机和其他工艺设备等设备的例行检查和维护结果 随着时间的推移，这些物种集中了低波动性的物种。工人接触元素汞蒸气的剂量为 在许多其他行业也令人担忧，包括氯碱行业，该行业将汞用作 电极，金银开采，这些贵金属用汞提取，制造和 回收荧光灯、超级基金场地清理、牙科等。因此，非常需要 个人汞监测仪，保护产业工人的健康。对于石油和天然气行业来说，这是 个人汞监测器的最大潜在市场，还有一个额外的要求，即监测器 获得在爆炸性环境中操作的认证。目前，没有汞监测器具有所需的ATEX (atmosphères explosible)用于偶尔发生爆炸性环境的行业认证 纯属意外。此外，对于石油和天然气行业，监视器必须具有对其他紫外线吸收的高选择性 芳香烃(苯、甲苯、二甲苯等)等物种，其含量可能高达百万分之几 级别。在我们的第一阶段工作中，我们开发并发布了爱马仕1号个人水星监测器™作为产品 用于测量工作场所中的汞蒸气。这个口袋大小的仪器是基于原子的 低压汞灯254 nm发射线的吸光度，测量汞浓度 至0.1g/m~3(与职业安全与健康管理局8小时暴露限值100g/m~3相比)，并对其他 通过通过银毛洗涤器调节样品流动的创新方法来吸收紫外线物种 通过形成汞齐选择性地去除汞。在一定程度上芳香烃通过 洗涤器不受调制，不会干扰测量。爱马仕1号可用于 除了可能遇到爆炸性环境的石油和天然气行业外，几乎所有的工业环境都是如此。 因此，在第二阶段项目中，我们将重新设计爱马仕的机械和电子部件 1满足ATEX 1区认证要求。在第二阶段，我们还将优化银牌的设计 洗涤器提供更大的汞去除能力，并量化可能存在的物种的选择性系数 发现于石油和天然气大气环境中。该项目的交付成果将是 爱马仕2个人水银监测器™，可安全用于石油和天然气行业的个人 对数千名工人进行监测，以防止暴露在这种强大的神经毒素的危险水平下。

Personal Mercury Monitor for Exposure Measurements Project Summary/Abstract Workers in the oil and natural gas industry are vulnerable to exposure to toxic mercury (Hg) vapor as a result of routine inspection and maintenance of equipment such as compressors and other process equipment that concentrate species of low volatility over time. Exposure of workers to elemental mercury vapor is of concern in many other industries as well, including the chlor-alkali industry where mercury is used as an electrode, gold and silver mining where these precious metals are extracted with mercury, manufacture and recycling of fluorescent lamps, Super Fund site cleanup, dentistry, etc. As a result, there is a great need for a personal mercury monitor to protect the health of industrial workers. For the oil and gas industry, which is the largest potential market for a personal mercury monitor, there is an additional requirement that that the monitor be certified for operation in explosive atmospheres. Currently, no mercury monitor has the required ATEX (ATmosphères EXplosibles) certification for use in this industry where explosive atmospheres occasionally occur by accident. Also, for the oil and gas industry, the monitor must have high selectivity against other UV-absorbing species such as aromatic hydrocarbons (benzene, toluene, xylenes, etc.), which may be present at up to high ppm levels. In our Phase 1 work, we developed and launched the Hermes 1 Personal Mercury Monitor™ as a product for measuring mercury vapor in the workplace. This pocket-sized instrument, which is based on atomic absorbance of the 254-nm emission line of a low pressure mercury lamp, measures mercury concentrations down to 0.1 g/m3 (compared to the OSHA 8-hr exposure limit of 100 g/m3) and achieves high selectivity against other UV-absorbing species by the innovative means of modulating the sample flow through a silver wool scrubber to selectively remove Hg by forming an amalgam. To the extent that aromatic hydrocarbons pass through the scrubber and are not modulated, they do not interfere with the measurement. The Hermes 1 may be used in nearly all industrial settings except for the oil and gas industry where explosive atmospheres may be encountered. Therefore, during the Phase 2 project we will redesign the mechanical and electronic components of the Hermes 1 to meet the requirements of ATEX Zone 1 certification. In Phase 2 we also will optimize the design of the silver scrubber to provide greater capacity for mercury removal and quantify selectivity factors for species likely to be found in the oil and gas atmospheric environment. The deliverable for this project will be the product launch of the Hermes 2 Personal Mercury Monitor™, which can be safely used in the oil and gas industry for personal monitoring of thousands of workers to protect from exposure to dangerous levels of this potent neurotoxin.