Exposure to metal-laden aerosols and particulates is a severe health threat to military and civilian personnel and occurs across a broad spectrum of industries. These include electroplating and anodizing processes where aerosols of chromium, cadmium and other metals are present: battery manufacture where lead dust is a hazard; building remediation where removal of lead paint can generate high airborne lead concentrations; the operation of both indoor and outdoor firing ranges where lead is generated from bullet ablation and the lead contained in the primer and propellant; and hazardous waste site remediation procedures where dust raised can produce high levels of several dangerous metals. In each instance, a real-time in situ method of detecting the dangerous metals would be a useful safeguard for the safety of the personnel working in these installations or performing these procedures. Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) proposes to develop a real-time in situ monitor for hazardous metal aerosols based upon spark-induced breakdown spectroscopy (SIBS). A prototype monitor for lead aerosols and particulates will be developed during Phase I and will be site tested for lead at a firing range. Extension to other metals and testing at other sites, such as plating facilities, will occur in Phase II.
The metal monitor will have application in a broad number of industries such as plating facilities, firing ranges, hazardous waste sites, and others.
