Analysis of highly toxic gases

Sometimes we get calls from customers who ask us if we have any application data on the analysis of highly toxic gases.  Unfortunately, in most cases, the answer is “no”.  We typically do not have on-site samples/standards of any dangerous gases except those (at low concentrations) which can be found on our website.

Photo above from the MSA website

 

We do realize that some of our customers need to perform analysis on these types of gases, so we try and help as much as we can.  Unfortunately, in many cases, we just don’t have the answer, so we need to use other resources.  For those of you who need to perform toxic gas analysis and are looking for a method, I would recommend searching for the compound’s name in each of the three links below.

NIOSH (NIOSH Publications and Products)

OSHA (Sampling and Analytical Methods)

NEMI (National Environmental Monitoring Index)

If a method is not found in any of the links above, Google the “compound name” along with the word “method” to see if any online methods are available.  If not, your best bet is to ask your customer for one; otherwise, you are going to need to do some research & development. 

Hopefully this post will help you get started with your analysis.  Above all, be careful.  Thanks for reading.