A new method and apparatus for on-site detection of trace levels of chemical warfare agents

Abstract A pre-concentration/fast gas chromatograph for the sampling of toxic vapors from air was developed. Pre-concentration is performed by filtering the contaminated air through a tube containing absorbing material. The sample is thermally desorbed and separated on a short chromatographic column using air as a carrier gas. Detection is performed with a commercial hand-held chemical warfare agent detector. The effects of the airflow rate, sample volume and system temperatures on the analytical performance were studied. Detection of organophosphorus vapors at concentrations in the range 4 × 10 −4 to 4 × 10 −5  mg/m 3 was achieved within 2.5 min. The ability to couple a portable detector to a pre-concentration/fast GC using air as a carrier gas encourages the development of a hand-held device for real-time on-site monitoring of low levels of CWA in the air.