The Bruker Analytical Systems, Inc. (Bruker), mobile environmental monitor (see photograph below) is a field-transportable, gas chromatography/mass spectrometer (GC/MS) designed to identify and measure organic pollutants in various environmental media. The MS uses a quadruple mass analyzer similar to most conventional instruments. Like conventional MSs, this instrument can identify and quantify organic compounds on the basis of their retention time, molecular weight, and characteristic fragment pattern. The integrated GC allows introduction of complex extracts for separation into individual components and subsequent analysis in the MS.
Bruker Mobile Environmental Monitor
The Bruker instrument's design and electronics are specially designed for field use. The instrument is designed to operate with battery power and can be used in various environmental situations with minimum support requirements.
The mobile environmental monitor was originally designed for the military to detect and monitor chemical warfare agents. Environmental samples may be introduced to the MS through the direct air sampler or the GC. Results are collected and stored in a computer, where data is reduced and analyzed. The computer provides reports within minutes of final data acquisition.
The Bruker mobile environmental monitor is designed to detect the full range of volatile and semivolatile organic compounds directly in air and in water, soil, sediment, sludge, and hazardous waste extracts. It provides in-field, real-time support during the characterization and remediation phases of cleanup at a hazardous waste site.
This technology was demonstrated at the Re-Solve, Inc., and Westborough Superfund sites in EPA Region 1. The technology was used to analyze polychlorinated biphenyls and polynuclear aromatics in soil and the full range of Superfund-targeted volatile organic compounds in water. Splits of all samples analyzed in the field were shipped to a laboratory for confirmatory analysis using standard EPA analytical methods.
The SITE demonstration was completed in September 1990, and the final report (EPA/600/X-91/079) is available from EPA. The results of this study were presented at the American Society for Mass Spectrometry Conference in May 1991 and at the Superfund Hazardous Waste Conference in July 1991. A recent survey of regional laboratories identified additional testing of this technology as a priority need.
Bruker has developed an additional system that addresses recommendations made in the project report. This system, designated the EM640, has increased mass range, decreased power consumption, faster sample analysis, and automated report generation. The EM640 was demonstrated under the SITE Program in July and September 1995.
The Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory-Las Vegas purchased a Bruker mobile environmental monitor in fiscal year 1992 to pursue other applications and to expand the scope of this project.
EPA PROJECT MANAGERS:
Stephen Billets
U.S. EPA
National Exposure Research Laboratory
Characterization Research Division
P.O. Box 93478
Las Vegas, NV 89193-3478
702-798-2232
Fax: 702-798-2261
TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPER CONTACT:
John Wronka
Bruker Analytical Systems, Inc.
19 Fortune Drive
Manning Park
Billerica, MA 01821
508-667-9580
Fax: 508-667-5993