The events of Sept. 11, 2001, forever changed the
climate of the United States and exposed the
nation's vulnerabilities. In response, the US Environmental
Protection Agency (USEPA) prepared detailed
guidance for drinking water utilities to follow in cases of
suspected or actual incidents of intentional contamination
of public water systems. Under the USEPA protocol,
water utility personnel, as the authority onsite, would
conduct an initial investigation or site characterization.
Key to this preliminary assessment is the use of rapid
analytical techniques for field screening.
The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Water and Sewer Authority
and the University of Pittsburgh School of Engineering
evaluated a number of analytical methods that utility
staff or emergency response teams could use to generate
preliminary data during the site characterization
phase. The technologies included rapid immunoassays,
rapid enzyme tests, rapid polymerase chain reaction
methods, field-deployable gas chromatography-
mass spectrometry, and acute toxicity screening.
Research results indicated that, although analytical
capabilities are rapidly improving, field-screening
technologies are not a substitute for standard laboratory
analyses and the data such technologies provide
should be considered presumptive.
The rapid analytical techniques currently available
can aid in assessing hazards and directing appropriate
operational and public health responses. However,
additional studies are needed to determine matrix
effects, the influence of interferences, the incidence of
inaccurate results, and the limitations of detection
capabilities. Includes 5 references, tables, figures.
| Edition : | Vol. 96 - No. 1 |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 1.7 MB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 13 |
| Published : | 01/01/2004 |
