Determination of Subpicogram Amounts of Chemical Agents in the Atmosphere. Phase 2

Abstract

During the second phase of this project, reported here, the objectives were to verify the sensitivity and determine the practical limits of field ionization detection of specific chemical warfare agents by a cross calibration procedure, to determine the usefulness of multiple silicon rubber membrane separators for pre enrichment of the analyzed air, and to search for improved field ionization sources. Field ionization mass spectrometry was found to be an adequate technique for the detection of chemical warfare agents in pure air down to the 10 ppt level. In laboratory air, the limit is 1 ppb because of the presence of impurities. This limitation could be eliminated by prepurification of the air.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 01, 1977
Accession Number
ADA039146

Entities

People

  • Gilbert A. St. John
  • Michael Anbar

Organizations

  • SRI International

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Advanced Electronics
  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Analyzers
  • Calibration
  • Chemical Warfare
  • Chemical Warfare Agents
  • Chemical Weapons
  • Detection
  • Detectors
  • Geometry
  • Mass Spectrometers
  • Mass Spectrometry
  • Materials
  • Measurement
  • Power Supplies
  • Separators
  • Spectra
  • Spectrometers
  • Spectrometry

Readers

  • Environmental Engineering
  • Software Engineering
  • Solar Physics