Determination of airborne organics by direct sampling mass spectrometry

Conference · Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1990

OSTI ID:6907298

Wise, M B; Buchanan, M V; Guerin, M R

Two new state-of-the-art mass spectrometer systems are currently being evaluated for the determination of part-per-billion levels of organics in ambient air. These instruments include an ion trap mass spectrometer (ITMS) and a glow discharge quadrupole mass spectrometer (GDMS). Both of these instruments can be configured for direct air sampling or may be operated in conjunction with thermal desorbers for the analysis of samples preconcentrated on resin traps. Glow discharge ionization is particularly amenable to direct air monitoring; however, the use of a single quadrupole mass analyzer limits the ultimate specificity of this particular system. Important features of the ITMS include the ability to perform selective chemical ionization as well as collision induced dissociation (CID) tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) for compound identification. Applications of this technology have included the determination of ambient nicotine in environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), the determination of trace levels of organo-phosphonates in air, and the detection of target volatile organics in indoor atmospheres. 2 refs., 5 figs.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOD; DOHHS
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 6907298
• Report Number(s): CONF-900724-6; ON: DE90009422
• Resource Relation: Conference: 5. international conference on indoor air quality and climate, Toronto (Canada), 29 Jul - 3 Aug 1990
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
MEASURING METHODS
MASS SPECTROMETERS
PERFORMANCE TESTING
RESINS
CONCENTRATION RATIO
AIR QUALITY
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
CHROMATOGRAPHY
COMMERCIALIZATION
COST
DATA PROCESSING
EFFICIENCY
ELECTRODES
FILTERS
FLEXIBILITY
IONIZATION
OPERATION
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
POLLUTANTS
POWER SUPPLIES
PRESSURE EFFECTS
PUMPS
RECOMMENDATIONS
RELIABILITY
SAMPLING
SENSITIVITY
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
TEMPERATURE EFFECTS
VACUUM SYSTEMS
VARIATIONS
VOLATILE MATTER
ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
EQUIPMENT
MATTER
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
ORGANIC POLYMERS
PETROCHEMICALS
PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
POLYMERS
PROCESSING
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SPECTROMETERS
TENSILE PROPERTIES
TESTING
540120* - Environment
Atmospheric- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (1990-)
440800 - Miscellaneous Instrumentation- (1990-)