Rapid on-site identification of hazardous organic compounds at fire scenes using person-portable gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)-part 2: water sampling and analysis

Building and factory fires pose a great risk to human and environmental health, due to the release of hazardous by-products of combustion. These hazardous compounds can dissipate into the environment through fire water run-off, and the impact can be immediate or chronic. Current laboratory-based met...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Rylee Lam (Author), Chris Lennard (Author), Graham Kingsland (Author), Paul Johnstone (Author), Andrew Symons (Author), Laura Wythes (Author), Jeremy Fewtrell (Author), David O'Brien (Author), Val Spikmans (Author)
Format: Book
Published: Oxford University Press, 2020-04-01T00:00:00Z.
Subjects:
Online Access:Connect to this object online.
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Building and factory fires pose a great risk to human and environmental health, due to the release of hazardous by-products of combustion. These hazardous compounds can dissipate into the environment through fire water run-off, and the impact can be immediate or chronic. Current laboratory-based methods do not report hazardous compounds released from a fire scene at the time and location of the event. Reporting of results is often delayed due to the complexities and logistics of laboratory-based sampling and analysis. These delays pose a risk to the health and wellbeing of the environment and exposed community. Recent developments in person-portable instrumentation have the potential to provide rapid analysis of samples in the field. A portable gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GC-MS) was evaluated for the on-site analysis of water samples for the identification of hazardous organic compounds at fire scenes. The portable GC-MS was capable of detecting and identifying a range of volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds in fire water run-off, and can be used in conjunction with conventional laboratory analysis methods for a comprehensive understanding of hazardous organics released at fire scenes. Deployment of this portable instrumentation provides first responders with a rapid, on-site screening tool to appropriately manage the run-off water from firefighting activities. This ensures that environmental and human health is proactively protected.
Item Description:2096-1790
2471-1411
10.1080/20961790.2019.1662648