Mercury Spill Response Instrumentation

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Mercury Spill Response Instrumentation
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Mercury Vapor Analyzers

• Jerome 431-X MVA (gold film)
• Lumex 915 MVA (Atomic Absorption)
• Jerome J405 MVA

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Jerome 431-X Mercury Vapor Analyzer

• Capabilities
• Detects mercury vapor at the µg/m3 level and
  greater
• 3.0 µg/m3
• Limitations
• May not detect mercury at lower levels
• 7 pounds
• Uses
• Mercury spills such as thermometers, hydrometers,
  switches, pressure gauges

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Advantages vs. Disadvantages

• Has a high maximum reading value
• Does not saturate easily
• Can always be reset with the Regen function

• Is not a constant read type of instrument
• Has a detection limit above the lowest
  health-based cleanup level
• Reproducibility is low at low concentrations

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Useful places for a Jerome

• Screening bagged personal items.
• Searching for hotspots in a high ambient
  concentration area.

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Jerome J405 Mercury Vapor Analyzer By Arizona
Instrument, LLC

• Capabilities
• Uses Gold Film Sensor Technology
• Detects mercury vapor at the µg/m3 level and
  greater
• 0.5 µg/m3 to 999 µg/m3
• 16 seconds for sample
• 5.3 pounds
• 20,000 samples
• Data Logging (USB)
• 24 hour battery life
• Uses
• Meets EPA and ATSDR Action levels.

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Lumex 915 Mercury Vapor Analyzer with RP-91 and
RP-91C Attachments

• Capabilities
• Portable Atomic Absorption
• Instant NIOSH 6009 indoor air Hg concentrations
• 2 ng/m3 (0.002 µg/m3)
• Limitations
• Soil and liquid attachments require field lab
  setup
• Standards are expensive and difficult to ship
  quickly (DG)
• 16 pounds

• Direct analysis of soil and complex mixtures (EPA
  7473)
• Hg determination in aqueous samples (EPA 1631)

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Advantages vs. Disadvantages

• Constant read instrument
• Extremely low detection limit
• Generally accurate and reproducible at low or
  high concentrations

• 20 minute startup time
• Battery life, especially through the length of a
  removal
• High background concentrations may hide hotspots,
  or saturate the instrument

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Startup

• Flip the switch
• Main menu appears
• Ignite the lamp
• The asterisk will disappear

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Now we wait

• This wait period is why you should not turn the
  instrument completely off during a day.
• Stopping the instrument pump and charging the
  instrument when its not in use will extend
  battery life without damaging the lamp.

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While we wait

• Go to Settings
• You can change the language to Russian
• Or you can go to Parameters and adjust some time
  values or limits.
• Default is usually best unless otherwise called
  for.

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General Maintenance

• The instrument has two changeable dust filters.
• This is the pre filter. It should be changed
  daily in the initial days of a response, less
  frequently later.

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Another Filter

• The device should be off before changing this
  filter.
• This does not have to be changed as often, maybe
  after each response.
• Use tweezers to remove the old filter and place
  the new filter.

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Oh yeah

• Theres one more filter. The absorption filter.
• It will probably never need to be changed unless
  it is back at the annual calibration.
• However, it is relatively easy to do if
  necessary. A small pair of pliers may be
  required to get a grip.

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More about the battery

• Battery life is a real issue, especially over the
  course of a multi-day response.
• It is difficult to know when the battery is
  dying.
• However, once it happens it is important to
  re-monitor the recent areas monitored with a very
  low battery.
• As the battery dies levels may be artificially
  high, or erratic in general.

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Back to the Main Menu

• On Stream this is the typical mode used in
  mercury response
• On Time this mode is used for solid or liquid
  analysis with attachments

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High Concentration Mode

• This mode turns the pump off to lower the air
  flow and changes the cell which is used for
  analysis.
• We have never found this mode very useful. If
  the concentrations are that high we would use the
  Jerome or do visual inspection and removal
  without the Lumex.
• With no pump the response times are far slower.

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Spikes

• When using the Lumex and a high reading occurs,
  remove instrument to outside or away from area to
  clear.
• If clearing personal items, watch the numbers and
  as soon as the go above 25,000 ng/m3 remove the
  nozzle. Use a Jerome to get exact values if they
  are needed

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More About Spikes

• In a very high environment the numbers may go up
  very quickly and then begin coming down, then
  when the nozzle is moved back to clear air the
  numbers will rise and then fall back down.
• This means the concentrations saturated the
  detector and the Lumex will likely take
  additional time to clear.

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Test Mode

• Enough waitingat least pretend it has been 20
  minutes.
• Now you want to perform a test to make sure the
  instrument is working properly.

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Test Cell Values

• The Sk value should be very similar to the Si
  value.
• The R() value will generally be less than 5 but
  must be less than 25.

• If you have problems
• The Lumex may be experiencing temperature issues
• The test cell may not be firmly engaged
• The absorption filter may have failed and need to
  be replaced.

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On Stream Mode
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Two types of measurements

• Ambient air concentrations
• Measured in the 4 6 ft height region.
• Tells you the concentration of mercury vapor in
  the room as a whole.
• This is similar to the data gained with air
  sampling.
• Always performed first.

• Near surface measurements
• Performed near a surface (floor, tabletop, etc.).
• Delineates hot spots, where elemental mercury may
  be.

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Switch to Protocol Mode
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Why its useful

• Protocol Mode displays the steadiness of the
  readings the Lumex collects.
• It gives the data a better quality because it
  shows the reproducibility.
• However, it does require patience!

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Two ways to turn off the pump

• Press the down arrow.
• To turn the pump back on press the up arrow.

• Exit to the Main Menu

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Questions???