A Remote Monitoring System for the Detection of Nitrates and Nitrites in Groundwater

70237 Nitrate contamination in ground and surface water is a widespread problem within the DOE complex. Advanced methods and instrumentation will be required to provide, reliable, long-term monitoring for evaluation and remediation of this contamination. This project will develop a low-cost, remote monitoring system for nitrate and nitrite in water that achieves superior stability and reproducibility compared to other nitrate detection methods. The active element of the monitoring system will be a microfabricated chip that minimizes size and cost while providing extreme sensitivity. Phase I will design, fabricate, and demonstrate the monitoring system. Detector performance will be evaluated with respect to possible interferences that are present in DOE waste, such as cyanide, fluoride, and heavy metals. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: The electrochemical detection of nitrate/nitrite would provide a low-cost, portable solution to on-site, in situ testing for industrial and personal environmental evaluations. Other applications include drinking water and wastewater analysis, process effluent analysis, and environmental remediation.