Exposure of workers who are sensitized to beryllium can lead to chronic beryllium disease, which scars the lungs and can be fatal. DOE recently lowered the beryllium exposure action limit to one-tenth of its former level, from 2 micrograms per cubic meter to 0.2 micrograms. The new portable monitor can reach a detection limit for beryllium air samples of 0.12 micrograms per cubic meter. In solution, the monitor possesses a beryllium detection limit as low as 9 trillionths of a gram per milliliter. The new monitor is easier to use and can detect and quantify multiple elements simultaneously.
Researchers pump an airborne sample through a tube into the heart of the microwave plasma source.
Argon and helium are most frequently used as plasma gases for analyzing metal and nonmetal elements. Samples in solution are analyzed in the same way. The operator simply changes the initial air sampling pump to one suited for handling solution samples. Results are virtually instantaneous, requiring about 100 milliseconds. The monitor weighs about 55 pounds and is about the size of a milk crate.