Heavy Metals Monitor for Water and Soil at Military Sites

Heavy metal contamination of groundwater is a major problem in industrialized areas. Multiple toxic metal compounds, such as lead, arsenic, chromium, mercury, and cadmium, have been recorded at dangerously high levels in groundwater and soils and should be monitored to prevent contamination of groundwater and drinking water. The ability to track contaminated metal plumes in real-time would increase the efficacy of field sampling, and improve the response time if the metal levels are hazardous. The US Army has identified the need to develop new, cost-effective technology for onsite monitoring heavy metals in groundwater and soil. The main goals of this program are: 1) provide a field-deployable monitoring technology to assist DOD with rapid measurement of heavy metal area contamination in a sensing network and: 2) place a compact monitor for heavy metals on the commercial market for water and soil testing. These goals will be achieved by elevating the technology readiness level to LEVEL 5 at the end of Phase I (i.e. sensor breadboard validation is ready for testing in a relevant environment) and LEVEL 6/7 at the end of Phase II (i.e. where the prototype monitor is ready for real samples in operational environment and deployed for pilot use).