ADVANCED PORTABLE GC/MS/MS FOR ON-SITE ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING

THE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OF A FIELD PORTABLE GAS-CHROMATOGRAPH/TANDEM MASS-SPECTROMETER (GC/MS/MS) IS PROPOSED FOR APPLICATION TO CRITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING NEEDS. THE PROPOSED INSTRUMENT SYSTEM WILL PROVIDE A POWERFUL NEW TOOL FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING THAT WILL GREATLY IMPROVE THE CAPABILITY TO MONITOR AND ULTIMATELY PREDICT THE DIFFUSION, DISPERSION, INTERACTION AND IMPACTS OF AIR, WATER AND LAND POLLUTION. THE RESEARCH WILL RESULT IN INCREASED SPECIFICITY, SENSITIVITY, EFFICIENCY, AND AUTOMATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING BY PROVIDING ADVANCED PORTABLE GC/MS/MS INSTRUMENTATION FOR ON-SITE AND REALTIME DATA ACQUISITION AND ANALYSIS OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINANTS. THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF GCMS TECHNOLOGY TO FIELD MONITORING REQUIRES A HIGH-PERFORMANCE, RUGGED, RELIABLE ANDPORTABLE MASS-SPECTROMETER WITH THE CAPABILITY TO DETECT TRACE ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINANTS WITHIN A VARIETY OF BACKGROUNDS AND MATRICIES. THE PROPOSED GC/MS/MS WAS SELECTED AS THE BEST SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL APPROACH TO MEETING THE MOST DEMANDING REQUIREMENTS FOR ENVIRONMENT MONITORING. A WIDE RANGE OF ENVIRONMENTAL APPLICATIONS FOR THE PROPOSED MINI-GC/MS/MS HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED INCLUDING THE MONITORING OF HAZARDOUS AND TOXIC CHEMICAL EFFLUENT AND WASTES, MONITORING OF SOURCE EMISSIONS AND AMBIENT AIR QUALITY FOR AIR TOXICS AND PRIORITY POLLUTANTS, INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE AND INDOOR AIR QUALITY MONITORING, AND ENVIRONMENTALFIELD RESEARCH. PHASE I OF THIS RESEARCH WILL EXPLORE THE TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY OF DEVELOPING A MINIATURIZED AND PORTABLE GC/MS/MS SYSTEM: (A)DEVELOPING A CONCEPTUAL DESIGN,(B) PERFORMING HIGH RISK RESEARCH ON SUBSYSTEMS, AND (C) ASSESSMENT OF ADVANCED FIELD SAMPLING METHODS.