Rapid measurements of fumigants for protection of transportation workers and emergency responders

Transportation workers such as longshoreman and truck drivers, customs inspectors, emergency responders, and health and safety professionals commonly encounter fumigants and other toxic chemicals and are at risk of exposures. Air quality evaluations should be performed prior to opening shipping containers, during and/or immediately after accidental and intentional releases, and in industrial hygiene applications. In these situations, rapid identification and initial estimates of fumigant concentration levels are required to protect workers and the public. We present the results of laboratory studies to develop and test automated methods for a field portable gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) instrument for rapidly detecting and measuring air concentrations of fumigants and other toxic compounds.