Reducing False Positives When Monitoring for Low Concentrations of Airborne Organic Chemicals in the Workplace

Oral Presentation

Prepared by G. Sides1, C. Kauffman2
1 - Battelle, 1163 Country Club Circle (home office), Birmingham, AL, 35244, United States
2 - Battelle Memorial Institute, Battelle Eastern Science and Technology Center, 1204 Technology Drive, Aberdeen, MD, 21001, United States


Contact Information: sidesg@battelle.org; 205-444-0480


ABSTRACT

Battelle has been responsible for staffing and running air monitoring operations at chemical agent disposal facilities since about 1998. Because of the low concentrations at which chemical agents must be monitored at such facilities, sub parts-per-billion to sub parts-per-trillion, false positives have been a persistent problem. This presentation will identify some of the techniques used to reduce false positives in the past and present a new air monitoring system developed by Battelle with features designed to further mitigate false positives.