Ocean Optics Offers Innovative Open-Path Air Monitoring System
New UVSentry detects airborne toxics in real time
Dunedin, FL -- The UVSentry, a fully automated, low-cost, easy-to-use open-path air monitoring system, is now available through <%=compan1%>. The UVSentry detects and quantifies atmospheric toxic compounds in real time with a single analyzer and senses dangerous chemicals at parts-per-trillion levels in wide-area environments (up to 850 meters in length). Community groups, environmental regulators and industry use the UVSentry to map hazardous emission from pollution sources.
Developed by Cerex Environmental Services of Atlanta, Georgia, the portable UVSentry is equipped with an integrated Ocean Optics HR2000 High-resolution Spectrometer that can resolve the fine spectral features of dangerous airborne toxics including sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, benzene, mercury, toluene, xylene, ammonia, formaldehydes and more.
The UVSentry includes a UV deuterium optical transmitter unit and a UV optical receiver unit. The UV transmitter projects a UV beam through the sample area to the receiving unit using telescope optics. The receiver, which can be positioned from 1 meter to 850 meters from the transmitter, collects the UV beam and sends it to the integrated HR2000 Spectrometer, which is configured to detect light from 180-320 nm. Microsoft Excel-based software is used to analyze the presence of airborne toxics along the UV beam's path. A release of a chemical anywhere along the UV beam is immediately detected and quantified. By comparison, traditional "point sampling" monitors may report only the part of a toxic plume that reaches the sensor's input port, which may impede the detection of compounds.
In a highly publicized December 2003 investigation, Hillsborough County, Florida, officials stated that they were using the UVSentry to monitor the air around Coronet Industries in Plant City, Florida, for harmful gases associated with animal feed processing. In the Coronet tests, the UVSentry detected the presence of SO2 and NO in the atmosphere near the plant. The results indicate that the pollution levels were within acceptable standards.
UVSentry Systems are being used to monitor the atmosphere at fence lines of oil refineries for BTEX and SO2. The systems are also being used to detect emissions at refineries in Durban South Africa and New Orleans, Louisiana. Additionally, the UVSentry's ability to detect ammonia emissions in the air near confined animal feeding operations has drawn interest from national groups including the Sierra Club.
Ocean Optics offers UVSentry Systems that range in price from $18,000 for a single-compound monitoring system to $45,000 for a completely automated turnkey system that includes a notebook PC and a full spectral library of chemicals.
Additionally, a NIST-traceable calibration system is included with each UVSentry system to validate the data that the system acquires.
Source: Ocean Optics