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DETECTION OF TOXICANTS ON BUILDING SURFACES FOLLOWING CHEMICAL ATTACK
Citation:
Melnyk, L J., C E. Bernard, AND J N. Morgan. DETECTION OF TOXICANTS ON BUILDING SURFACES FOLLOWING CHEMICAL ATTACK. Presented at ACS Meeting, New York City, NY, September 7-11, 2003.
Description:
A critical step prior to reoccupation of any facility following a chemical attack will be the monitoring of toxic compounds on surfaces within that facility. Low level detection of toxicant(s) is necessary to ensure that these compounds have been eliminated after decontamination. Since the compounds that might be encountered in a chemical attack are diverse, surface sampling protocols will be developed using a variety of industrial chemicals including pesticides. Selection will be based on factors such as amounts manufactured worldwide, usage, and availability. The procedure also needs to be applicable to a variety of building surfaces, such as walls, floors, ceilings, office furniture, and duct work. Therefore, different types of building surfaces will be contaminated with the study compounds at known concentrations then sampled with wipes of organic solvent moistened gauze pads. Analytical methods will be optimized for detecting and measuring the study compounds in extracts from the gauze wipes.