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Air Monitoring Medical applications


The Coriolis µ has also been employed in hospitals by hygienists with responsibility for bio-safety assessment in locations such as surgeries, recovery rooms and patient wards. If air purifiers are not available or during building rehabilitation work, Coriolis µ has been used to collect the global air burden in a short period of time and since hospital laboratories are equipped with the latest qPCR equipment and corresponding primers, rapid evaluation has enabled fast remedial action [3].


When the concentration of target particles is low, or when events occur unexpectedly, the Coriolis µ has an option to collect over a longer period - 1 hour or more. This solution is currently being evaluated in the bio-surveillance of virus Influenza A&B in hospital corridors and emergency rooms (qPCR Identification and Titration).


Veterinary applications


It is also necessary to determine the exact nature of the bioaerosols in animal housing. This will improve the understanding of worker exposure and related diseases, and the understanding of the transfer of diseases between animals.


Research in the dairy sector has demonstrated the vast complexity of bioaerosol components which could play a role in occupational respiratory diseases [4] and further work is underway to assess the effects of biological air quality on animal breeding in a confined environment.


Conclusion


The complexity of airborne biological particles has been hidden by traditional microbiological techniques; however researchers, environmentalists and public health authorities are now looking to better understand biological contamination and these new developments in sampling and microbiological analysis are providing an insight that has not been viable in the past. As scientific knowledge in this area grows and early adopters demonstrate the advantages of the new technology, cyclonic collection in combination with the latest rapid microbiological analysis methods will soon become standard methodology.


[1] The microbial signature of aerosols produced during the thermophilic phase of composting. Journal of Applied Microbiology. 2010. O. Le Goff, V. Bru-Adan, H. Bacheley, J.-J. Godon & N. Wery


[2] Rapid quantification of bioaerosols containing L. pneumophila by Coriolis®


µ air sampler and


chemiluminescence antibody microarrays. 2012. Journal of Aerosol Science. V. Langer, G. Hartmann, R. Niessner & M. Seidel


[3] Contribution of a Cyclonic- Based Liquid Air Collector for Detecting Aspergillus Fumigatus by QPCR in Air Samples, Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 2012. A. P. Bellanger, G. Reboux, E. Scherer, M. Vacheyrou & L. Millon


Coriolis µ sampling indoors


[4] Characterization of Bioaerosols From Dairy Barns: Reconstructing the Puzzle of Occupational Respiratory Diseases Using Molecular Approaches, Appi. Environ. Microbiol., American Society for Microblology, 2012, P. Blais Lecours, M. Veillette, D. Marsolais, C. Duchaine


Mercury Emissions Monitor Draws Crowds in Edinburgh


Gasmet (Finland) unveiled a new continuous mercury monitoring system (CMM) at Mercury 2013 in Edinburgh, Scotland, during the ‘International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant’. Expressing his delight with the number of enquiries received, Gasmet Europe’s Antti Heikkilä said: “With delegates from over 50 countries, the conference was extremely well attended and our booth received a constant stream of enquiries throughout the week.


“We received requests for monitoring applications covering mercury emissions in coal and waste incineration, to emerging measurement requirements such as mercury in natural gas and other forthcoming regulatory driven applications.


“Most of the visitors to our booth were looking for a monitor with low detection limits, no interferences and with low operating costs, so the CMM was ideal for their needs.”


The Gasmet CMM employs cold vapour atomic fluorescence (CVAF) to deliver very low detection limits at a significantly lower cost than other comparable mercury monitoring instruments.


The CVAF spectrometer has an integrated high temperature converter to effectively transform mercury compounds to atomic mercury without any chemicals or vulnerable catalyst materials. The close coupling of converter and fluorescence cell also ensures that Mercury does not recombine to, for example, Mercury Chloride between the converter and the Mercury Analyser. Sample gas dilution with synthetic nitrogen generated within the CMM system is an effective tool to promote sample transportation whilst decreasing the loss of Hg0 fluorescence signal to interactions with O2, CO2, and H2O. The fluorescence cell is specially designed to eliminate stray reflections and background light so that even with sample dilution the CMM system is capable of monitoring low levels of mercury as required in the forthcoming US Clean Air Mercury Rule.


The system is controlled through a touch screen control panel, which is integrated with the analyser and calibrator inside an air- conditioned cabinet, and calibration is maintained with regular automatic zero and span calibrations using Hg0 and HgCl2 calibration gases generated within the CMM system - typically every


24 hours. Periodic linearity checks with atomic mercury or mercury chloride are also possible. Further information is available on the website.


For More Info, email: 26781pr@reply-direct.com A Leap Ahead for Pollen Analysis


Nearly a quarter of the population of industrialised nations suffer from pollen related allergies. These allergic reactions range from hay fever to life-threatening anaphylactic shocks. Currently, pollen counts are usually based on information from two day old data.


Helmut Hund GmbH (Germany) now offer a new method for fast and reliable pollen analysis which will prove to be an excellent alternative to the time consuming and error prone methods currently being widely used. The BAA 500 Pollen Monitor offers an automated sampling and handling system, with image acquisition carried out by an automated microscope with an image analysis software package. The highly sophisticated image analysis algorithms ensure highly accurate and reliable data analysis and pollen counts. Concentration data is transferred every 3 hours.


The BAA 500 can evaluate 120 morphological parameters extracted from each pollen species, the powerful image processing algorithms identify and count pollen species with a typical recognition rate of 80 – 90%, a massive improvement on the data achieved by human counters. The analyser’s database currently includes 38 different species of pollen, which will increase over the coming months and years. New species can be analysed by adding their properties to the training data base. Users of the BAA 500 also enjoy simple maintenance procedures: one has to change sample magazine and to clean the inlet filters on occasion.


The BAA 500 is robust, user-friendly and offers autonomous operation for a full month. The system status can be viewed at any time by remote analysis tools. Helmut Hund has over 30 years of experience in the fields of particle measurement and microscopy, which has created a fresh breeze for pollen forecasts.


For More Info, email: 26607pr@reply-direct.com IET September / October 2013 www.envirotech-online.com


New and Versatile High Precision Gas Analysis Equipment


The Rapidox 5100 range from Cambridge Sensotec (UK) comprises of all new and versatile high precision gas analysis equipment, with the ability to measure a selection of compatible gases.


Applications include: Syngas; Biogas; Heat treatment gases; Water treatment processes; Landfill sites; Anaerobic digestion.


Some of the features and benefits include: High precision sensors designed and calibrated to avoid cross interference; 7” full colour touch screen; 8 hour lithium ion battery; Robust IP66 Peli-case; Minimum 12 months continuous data storage; Modular design allows for bespoke sensor combinations upon request; Included is a sampling hose and probe, with moisture trap and particle filter.


For More Info, email: 26832pr@reply-direct.com


New Mercury Sorbent Trap System


Specialist supplier's of Mercury sample probes, M&C TechGroup (Germany), have announced a new Mercury Sorbent Trap system. M&C’s STS (Sorbent Trap System) exceeds the rigors of the US EPA MATS and Cement MACT Rule.


Exclusive innovations include remote access via Modbus, TCP/IP, 4to20 MA, and many other communications protocols, no water storage, no dry-gas pumps and the only unit with on-board intelligence.


M&C’s STS unit meets US EPA’s PS-12B and US EPA 30B requirements. The unit can be used for control and process applications. M&C has supplied the STS unit to multiple customers in the US for both compliance and testing purposes.


For More Info, email: 26275pr@reply-direct.com


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