Market profile: dedicated arsenic analyzers.In January, the allowed maximum contaminant level Maximum Contaminant Levels are standards that are set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for drinking water quality. A Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) is the legal threshold limit on the amount of a hazardous substance that is allowed in drinking water under for arsenic in drinking water was lowered by the US Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), independent agency of the U.S. government, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1970 to reduce and control air and water pollution, noise pollution, and radiation and to ensure the safe handling and (EPA EPA eicosapentaenoic acid. EPA abbr. eicosapentaenoic acid EPA, n.pr See acid, eicosapentaenoic. EPA, n. ) from 50 to 10 parts per billion (ppb), bringing the American regulation in line with standards already promulgated by the European Union and the World Health Organization. Coinciding with this change, the EPA withdrew support for inductively coupled plasma An inductively coupled plasma (ICP) is a type of plasma source in which the energy is supplied by electrical currents which are produced by electromagnetic induction, that is, by time-varying magnetic fields. (ICP (1) (Internet Cache Protocol) A protocol used by one proxy server to query another for a cached Web page without having to go to the Internet to retrieve it. See CARP and proxy server. ) optical emission spectroscopy as an appropriate method for the measurement of arsenic in drinking water, due to the increased sensitivity required to meet the new standard. Although this decision is considered favorable for more sensitive ICP mass spectrometers (MS), there are also approved drinking water methods that rely on graphite furnace and hydride generation atomic absorbance absorbance /ab·sor·bance/ (-sor´bans) 1. in analytical chemistry, a measure of the light that a solution does not transmit compared to a pure solution. Symbol . 2. (AA) spectrometers (see IBO 7/15/05). There are other approved methods for environmental testing of arsenic in soils and sediments. One of the more interesting technologies is anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV), ah electrochemical electrochemical /elec·tro·chem·i·cal/ (-kem´i-k'l) pertaining to interaction or interconversion of chemical and electrical energies. e·lec·tro·chem·i·cal adj. method. Although AA and electrochemistry electrochemistry, science dealing with the relationship between electricity and chemical changes. Of principal interest are the reactions that take place between electrodes and the electrolytes in electric and electrolytic cells (see electrolysis), as well as the are common analytical tools, this profile considers only those instruments that are specifically dedicated to the measurement of arsenic in drinking water or other sample types. While graphite furnace AA is a standard multi-element laboratory technique, dedicated arsenic analyzers typically use hydride generation AA, a technique that involves an important concentration step in order to make more sensitive measurements. Hydride generation begins with the chemical reduction of the arsenic in the sample, followed by a reaction that creates arsenic trihydride, a volatile gas. This gas can be drawn off from the liquid sample and introduced into the flame of an AA spectrometer. Hydride generation AA can detect sub-ppb levels of arsenic in water, making it suitable for drinking water analysis at a fraction of the cost of ICP-MS ICP-MS Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy . ASV is an electrochemical technique that has been commercialized for the specific detection of arsenic. Electrodes are introduced into the solution to be measured and, in the preconcentration stage, arsenic is reduced and collected at the anode. Then, as the arsenic is reoxidized and stripped from the electrode, voltammetry provides the basis for measuring the arsenic concentration. In 2005, the total market for dedicated arsenic analyzers was quite small at less than $2 million. Most environmental testing laboratories have access to general methods like graphite furnace AA or ICP-MS, so the demand for a specialized instrument just for arsenic testing is weak. However, because these instruments are relatively inexpensive, laboratories affected by the withdrawal of the ICP method may find a dedicated arsenic analyzer a solution to their needs. Buck Scientific makes hydride generation AA systems, as does HelmoTee, which is more oriented toward portable systems. TraceDetect is a pioneer in the use of ASV for dedicated arsenic analysis in the lab and for online use in water facilities. Dedicated Arsenic Analyzers at a Glance: Leading Suppliers * Buck Scientific * TraceDetect * HelmoTec Largest Markets * Water Utilities * Government Instrument Cost * $8,000-$20,000 |
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