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Showing posts from May, 2011

#AIHCE 2011 Wrap-Up-the word from Booth 718

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We heard it from an industrial hygienist                                                                      in Portland, OR Chlorinated hydrocarbons are a hot topic right now for first responders from fire departments and government agencies such as Homeland Security and Transportation Security Administration.We have been specializing in the measurement of chlorinated hydrocarbons since our development of the 11.7 eV long lifetime photoionization detector lamp in 1979. This lamp is available for the hand-held PIDs and for our portable gas chromatographs. Click here for more information about use of a photoionization based analyzer for the measurement of chlorinated hydrocarbons. Web site We brought along the first ever sold HNU PI-101 to Portland because we were showcasing it at The Chemistry of Industrial Hygiene Instrumentation Reception during the conference and we brought it to the booth thinking folks would get a kick out of it. We elicited a huge

Far UV Absorbance Detector-The FUVAD

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The Far UV Absorbance Detector "Theory- Most organic and inorganic species absorb strongly in the far UV (FUV). Notable exceptions are the inert gases, helium and nitrogen which absorb very weakly in this region. Certain diatomic species such as O which have low absorption in the region of the lamp energy 2 (124 nm) will have a poor response but low ppm levels can still be detected. The far UV detector is relatively new to gas chromatography (compared to other  GC detectors) since it was introduced by HNU Systems in 1984. It is frequently compared with the thermal conductivity detector since it will respond to any compound that absorbs in the far or vacuum UV. The latter name is a misnomer since with a carrier gas flowing through the cell, a vacuum is not needed. Thus, the detector has a response that is nearly universal, a low dead volume (40 µl), and a fast electrometer time constant. The primary emission from this lamp is the 124 mn line. Although there are visible lines fro

What's in the air now? Analysis of ppb levels of photochemical smog components in air using a portable analyzer

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  242nd ACS National Meeting, Denver, CO Document ID: 18472 Program Area: SCHB: Division of Small Chemical Businesses Symposium Title: (SCHB015) Sci-Mix INSTITUTIONS 1. PID Analyzers, LLC, Sandwich, MA, 02563, United States AUTHORS 1. Jennifer L. Maclachlan , Managing Director, 2 Washington Circle, #4, Sandwich, MA, 02563, United States 2. John N. Driscoll, 2 Washington Circle, #4, Sandwich, MA, 02563, United States Abstract Body:  A number of cities in the U.S., including Denver, have problems with high levels of ozone and/or photochemical smog. This phenomenon, first observed in the Los Angles basin area in the 1950's, is still not well understood. Fixed monitoring stations have been established for several decades, but the data collected and subsequent analysis leaves an incomplete understanding of the ozone and photochemical smog formation problem. A portable analyzer, capable of being deployed when traffic and weath

Real-Time Detection Systems at #AIHCE: Fast GC Analysis for IH monitoring

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  Excellent attendance was reported for our podium session at the American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition : PO 111 Field Detection, Sampling and Analysis: Real Time Detection Systems. According to people who attended this session the room was nearly at capacity meaning approximately 200 people comprised the audience! Tuesday | 10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. May 17, 2011 Portland, OR Arranger: W. Groves, Penn State, University Park, PA. Moderator: P. Smith, Uniform Services University, Bethesda, MD. Monitors: M. Roe, 3M Company, Blaine, MN; J. Engel, USN, Camp Pendleton, CA. 10:30 a.m. Fast GC Analysis with PID and FUV Detectors for Industrial Hygiene Monitoring at Low ppb Levels . (PO 111-1) J. Driscoll, D. Walsh, PID Analyzers, LLC, Pembroke, MA; P. Smith, US/DOL/OSHA After the talk, numerous folks came by our booth to discuss industrial hygiene applications with Jack Driscoll for both the fast GC and the portable GC -the featured produc

The Chemistry of Industrial Hygiene Instrumentation

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Hilton Portland Galleria North The question came to me from longtime colleague Geoff Hewitt of IonScience, is 2011 the 40th anniversary of  the commercialization of the photoionization detector by Jack Driscoll? My answer was no it's not; it is the 38th anniversary but it is the International Year of Chemistry . What better time to celebrate the life's work of a chemist and his contributions to the field of industrial hygiene? I contacted my local section of the American Chemical Society (NESACS) and applied for a mini-grant to sponsor this event and applied to have it listed as an official International Year of Chemistry (IYC) event .  Dr. Patrick Gordon, Chair of NESACS contacted me to discuss presenting a plaque to Jack at this event that they had agreed to sponsor and would act as an official IYC event. When asked AIHA offered me a no-charge function room at the Hilton Portland for this special evening. Dr. Gordon asked me to solicit someone in the industrial hygiene

#AIHce Social Media Meetup

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Hilton Portland Bistro 921 Hotel Bar Hilton Portland The 2nd* annual #AIHce social media meetup took place on Sunday May 15, 2011 at the Hilton Portland & Exec Towers at the Bistro 921 Bar at 4:30pm.   Once the confusion of "which" Hilton is it in?-this one or the one across the street ? folks started to arrive at Bistro 921 .   It is always awkward at first approaching strangers at the bar asking if they are here for the social media meetup-I must remember to bring a sign with the Linked-In, Facebook and Twitter logos to future events to ease that nervousness-of course once Tony Uliano turned around I recognized his face from the AIHA Linked-In group and said "Tony how are you? It's me, Jennifer". Turns out Matt who was grading papers at the bar was also there for the meetup and my husband Jimmy and I welcomed them to join us at the tables in front of the tv.   Back row L to R Tony, Jack, Jennifer, Ben, Don, Front row L to R Matt, Jimmy The busi

#AIHCE Featured Products Booth 718 Portland, OR

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Come check out our photoionization detectors at booth 718!  See how you can build your own IH,EHOS or IAQ analyzer using the base analyzer and selecting the corresponding sensor(s)- up to 4 per unit - tailored to your application: choose from photoionization, 30 different electrochemical sensors- featuring oxygen and hydrogen sulfide , IR sensors- range specific and/or combustible gas sensor. On the PID, the headspace mode is standard and the ppb mode is available as an option. Need a fast GC ? Come to the Real-Time Detection Systems podium session # PO111-1 on Tuesday May 17 at 10:30am. More information here Need a portable GC ?  We've got a truly portable GC for lab results in the field. Celebrate the International Year of Chemistry with us at #AIHCE:  The Chemistry of Industrial Hygiene Reception to honor Dr. Jack Driscoll.  Check out our write-ups in Occupational Health & Safety and Facility Safety Management . Click here to view the invitation and/or register