ABSTRACT
The lowering of the TLV for hydrazine by a factor of 10 indicated the need for a new method for air sampling of this chemical. With introduction of new non-missile applications of hydrazine, the Air Force found a need not only for a method that could be used to determine concentrations less than 0.1 ppm for both long and short term sampling, but also for one that could be readily used for personal exposure monitoring, and one that allowed for field analysis of the collected sample. A method using collection on solid sorbent sampling tubes and analysis by a field colorimetric procedure was developed and proved very satisfactory. The accuracy of this simple and rugged method was well within NIOSH recommendations and the method could be used to determine concentrations well below 0.1 ppm using 1-4L/min personal sampling pumps for less than 10 minute sampling or 0.05-0.20 L/min pumps for sampling over 3 hours.
Subject(s)
Air Pollutants/analysis , Hydrazines/analysis , Colorimetry , Spectrophotometry/methodsABSTRACT
Two techniques for analyzing contaminants released as gases from postmortem tissues were described and compared. One technique used gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS); the other, infrared spectroscopy (IR). Brain, lung, liver, blood and urine specimens were obtained from suspected drug-overdose victims whose deaths were contributed to or caused by inhalation of unknown gases or vapors during the period immediately preceding death. Gases from the postmortem tissues and liquid samples were separately admitted into an evacuated IR gas cell, the IR spectra recorded, and gas samples then removed for GC/MS analysis. Nitrous oxide, glue, and paint solvent constituents were identified and measured. Only the brain and lung tissues contained measurable amounts of inhalants. Both IR and GC/MS methods were adequate for normal confirmatory analyses; the GC/MS system was judged superior for fast routine efforts normally hampered by incomplete sample history.
