Air Monitoring for Chemical Warfare Agents
Air monitoring is critical for
ensuring that neither plant workers nor nearby residents are exposed
to chemical warfare agents:
-
Continuous
"near real-time" air monitors are capable of alerting workers and
reporting agent migration in a matter of minutes.
They serve as sentinels to initiate corrective and protective
actions.
- Other types of air monitors collect samples over a longer period
of time for analysis in an on-site laboratory. Analysis
results can be used to confirm or refute readings of near real-time
air monitors.
- If agent migration is detected, even at levels below what would
be harmful to people, corrective action is taken.
Air
monitors are placed in the following areas:
- Inside of disposal facilities, strategically placed in locations
of greatest potential for agent vapor migration
- In the exhaust stacks to continuously verify proper operation of
the facility
- Outside of the plant, at the facility boundary
CDC's
involvement to make sure chemical warfare agent air monitors are
operating correctly:
- Checks air monitoring locations to make sure that they are
appropriately placed according to the hazard assessment for the area
and air flow patterns.
- Analyzes data from the air monitoring system to ensure that the
systems are giving accurate readings.
-
Reviews quality assurance/quality control plans prior to their
implementation.