Global Safety: Measuring Air Quality for Service Members
Serving Those Who Serve Us
Millions of United States service members dedicate their lives to protecting others at home and abroad. Whether they are deployed in combat overseas or servicing technology and equipment in the States, each member contributes to our nation’s military might. As troops fulfill their duties, many are exposed to potentially hazardous and toxic chemical vapors. There is an increasing need to proactively assess chemical exposure threats in military occupational and environmental settings. XploSafe LLC is dedicated to providing versatile, low-cost air samplers useful both stateside and on deployments. XCel+ badges are optimized for monitoring exposures for both individuals and for categorizing exposures for particular subpopulations, such as certain MOSes, ratings, and specialties.
Previous Sampling Complications
Existing samplers used to determine and measure chemical exposures have several limiting factors. They most often consist of carbon-based solutions, which limit sampling efficiency. Depending on the sampled compounds, different sorbents could be needed – meaning coverage limitations are common. The carbon matrices could be reactive towards various unstable compounds rendering the process dangerous and often inaccurate. In addition, complicated analyses are very time-consuming and the costs are often passed on to the consumers. If the contaminants being tested for were unknown, the sorbent selection becomes a challenge. Several types of samplers are often required to capture a wide range of potential chemicals – each with different handling instructions, maximum sampling times, and environmental requirements.
XCel+ Solutions
AiroTect, a part of XploSafe, designed, optimized, and validated XCel+ Diffusive Vapor Samplers to provide a wide range of exposure/contaminant monitoring while alleviating the complications that came alongside existing products. XCel+ samplers provide one badge for the widest range of chemical analytes on the market! They are validated against established EPA/NIOSH methods with sampling accuracy being within +/- 25%. Each badge is equipped with three active sampler tokens and one blank. This facilitates triplicate data (for increased accuracy and standard deviation) or allows for different analysis methods for each sample token. The samplers allow for quantification in low nanograms. Sampling rates are established for over 80 compounds! Badges offer substantial capacity for both short duration and longer-term (minutes/hours or days/weeks) sampling efforts. XCel+ badges require no specialized training to use! Badges can be opened, activated, and begin collecting samples within 15 seconds!
The mesoporous silica sorbent used in XCel+ badges is inorganic with a high surface area (> 600 m2/g) and has very high thermal stability. There are no volatiles released from the sorbent upon heating and no chemical reactivity that degrades analytes! The sorbent provides no possibility of interference with GC/MS analyses.
Sampler Field Testing
XCel+ badges were successfully field-tested in various scenarios including a defense manufacturing facility, submersible vessels, U.S. Air Force bases across multiple continents, active fire scenes, and a pharma/biologics packaging and manufacturing facility in Oklahoma. In the manufacturing facilities, 29 different organic compounds were detected at quantifiable levels using established sampling rates. In-field analysis was demonstrated with a person-portable, field-deployable, HAPSITE Chemical Identification System. XCel+ badges were additionally tested in collaboration with fire departments in Oklahoma and Arizona at both wildland and structure fires to determine chemical exposures for various firefighters (e.g. nozzlemen, engineers, investigators, officers, etc.).
Distinguished Results
The sorbent used in XCel+ sampling badges exhibited a wide-range capability to capture and release volatile (fuels), semi-volatile (disinfectants), and reactive (aldehydes) compounds. The nanoconfinement technology (vs. chemisorption) enables universal sampling across a multitude of chemical classes. XCel+ samplers were found to be a viable alternative to active samplers used to measure organics in the air, as well as offered end-users with improved storage and analytical reporting. The badges were specially optimized with Agile Combat Employment (ACE) in mind. The direct analysis via portable thermal desorption GC systems (such as the HAPSITE) makes the solution attractive for the field. XCel+ badges exhibited consistent results in the diverse military and occupational environments in which they were deployed.
Product and Materials
To purchase XCel+ samplers for air hygiene monitoring, visit www.airotect.com or call us at (405) 344-5720 or email us at info@airotect.com! To receive a copy of our full Field Testing of Nanoconfinement Technology presentation from the 2023 Military Health System Research Symposium Kissimmee, FL email us at info@airotect.com!
Our products are proudly developed and manufactured in the USA, and every purchase helps to support further research into protecting our military and first responders!
