Detection and Identification of CBR and Hazmat Agents in the Field
Rapid identification of the chemical agent of concern during a CBR incident is paramount as it impacts on many areas of subsequent disaster management including safe distances for establishment of incident control, evacuation decisions, chemical neutralisation and cleanup, medical treatment of affected population and choice of PPE for first responder crews. The instruments and skill sets of traditional first responders (eg Fire/Police) are often not directed toward unequivocal identification and the delay in scientific personnel attending the scene may mean there is no contaminated air left to analyse.
The ability to archive an air sample for subsequent rigorous on-site analysis by scientific personnel as soon as they arrive at the scene enhances the counter terrorism response and fills a critical gap.
This paper will describe the development of protocols and methodology for:
The deployment and maintenance of evacuated canisters for use in taking archival air samples during a CBR incident.
The operation and decontamination of evacuated canisters for sampling air contaminated with chemical agents during a CBR incident.
A system for the safe handling and transfer of contaminated air into mobile laboratory based instruments for positive identification of the agent on-site without risk of loss to atmosphere.
The validation of the sampling method including recovery, sample integrity and range of toxic agents amenable to canister sampling.
Analytical instruments selected for validation include gas chromatograph, gas chromatography/mass spectrometer, gas phase infrared spectrometer together with handheld electrochemical based toxic gas monitors including ion mobility spectrometer and flame photometric detector.