Since the events of Sept. 11, 2001, the world has become a
different place. More attention than ever is being paid to the
nation's vulnerabilities, and this has prompted officials at all
levels to examine the tools available for ensuring the security of
public utilities. The recent emphasis on making sure that public
water supplies are safe has created the need for continuous
monitoring systems and analytical techniques that can be used at
the utility level to test for a variety of toxic materials in a short
amount of time.
States and colleagues provide a survey of continuous monitoring
and analytical methods currently available to utilities for
security purposes. This survey grew out of an investigation the
Pittsburgh (Pa.) Water & Sewer Authority (PWSA) and the University
of Pittsburgh School of Engineering conducted in order to
identify feasible analytical responses to security concerns. This
investigation included a literature search; discussions with
personnel from various water utilities, water industry organizations,
and regulatory agencies; and evaluation of several commercially
available monitoring and analytical systems. The
article also takes a look at the analytical measures PWSA uses
to screen for possible contamination in response to threats or
suspected tampering with its water system as well as during
times of heightened security. Although these methods are
limited and their results should be interpreted with caution,
there are some techniques, such as acute toxicity testing, that
can be useful. Includes 17 references, tables, figures.
| Edition : | Vol. 95 - No. 4 |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 150 KB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 13 |
| Published : | 04/01/2003 |
