IEP - Air Quality Research - Ambient Monitoring
Airborne Particulate Threat Assessment (APTA) Project
In a collaborative effort between ChemImage Biothreat, LLC and the National
Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), the Airborne Particulate Threat Assessment
(APTA) Project will acquire the ability to discern between chemical/biological
threat agents and ambient background particulate matter (PM) encountered in
the environment. The project will focus on potential background interferences,
specifically from the ambient backgrounds collected at NETL-supported ambient
air collection facilities. Potential substrate interferences such as pollen,
insecticides and industrial PM will be addressed. Using Raman Chemical Imaging
(RCI) and fluorescence chemical imaging, a background - void of pathogen spores
- will be collected and compared to known pathogens. Interactions causing possible
false positives will be identified and studied. This study would systematically
identify potential problems and provide a baseline of ambient particulates
found in the mid-eastern United States .
The project team will evaluate PM compositional signature data using a variety
of microanalytical techniques, including scanning electron microscopy, FT-IR
microspectroscopy, optical microscopy, fluorescence imaging and Raman Chemical
Imaging. The PM will be collected using PM-reference collection equipment provided
by researchers at NETL. For comparison, the team will fabricate and operate
an autonomous PM-collection apparatus optimized for the referenced collection
and deposition of PM. Indoor and outdoor ambient airborne PM will be collected
and analyzed periodically throughout the 12-month project, and a signature
database of the composition of the ambient PM will be compiled.
The ability of an automated aerosol detection system to operate successfully
will be enhanced by a more accurate assessment of background variability, especially
for sensitive and specific sensing strategies like RCI that are background limited
in performance. To date, RCI has been demonstrated as an effective strategy for
the assessment of threat agents in the presence of specific, complex backgrounds.
A fundamental limit to the effectiveness of Raman-based threat detection, as
well as all other sensing strategies, is the lack of understanding of the composition
of the variable ambient PM background. By developing a more comprehensive assessment
of the ambient background particulate composition in Western Pennsylvania, as
well as developing methods and toolsets that allow these measurements to be made
on a routine basis, RCI detection strategies for the autonomous detection of
airborne chemical and biological hazards in the environment.
Related Papers and Publications:
Contacts:
|
|
ABOUT NETL
Deepwater Technology