Mobile Lab Detects Danger—on the Spot

In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks in the United States, many nations have been enacting preventive measures while also improving their ability to respond to a variety of threats, including biological and chemical weapons. For emergency response personnel, the ability to quickly determine the scope and nature of the problem helps contain and control the contamination, thereby protecting public health and saving lives.

Such is the case with the New York Police Department (NYPD), which can now detect dangerous chemical and biological agents in air, water, soil or food supplies during an emergency. What's more, they can do it on the spot, thanks to a mobile laboratory equipped with advanced analytical systems donated by Agilent Technologies through the New York City Police Foundation.

Processing evidence and clues in real time

NYPD took delivery of the wheeled laboratory -- one of the most advanced ever built -- on March 19, 2002. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, military agencies and private laboratories already have similar mobile labs, but this is the first one specifically designed to detect chemical and biological warfare agents in the civilian theater.

Carried on the back of a converted Ford F-550 truck, the lab is divided into two sections. Forensic investigators submit samples of hazardous substances from the outside through a small airlock in the rear compartment. The samples are prepared and decontaminated then transferred through a second airlock to the front compartment for analysis and identification. The lab's mobility allows investigators to work remotely in near real time, gathering and processing evidence and clues that will help them identify the perpetrators. It takes about 30 minutes to identify chemicals, depending on the substance and sample preparation time.

Detecting threats to health and the environment

The rolling lab is equipped with three separate Agilent analytical instrumentation systems:

• Chemical Weapons Detection and Confirmation System, capable of processing air, liquid, solid or soil samples to detect and confirm chemical weapons (CW) materials. It can measure concentrations to the lowest level possible. The system includes a gas chromatograph with dual wavelength flame photometric detector and mass selective detector (GC-DFPD/MSD) as well as a Dynatherm ACEM 900 thermal desorption system.
   
• Toxic Industrial Compounds System, which can analyze air, water and food samples to identify and quantify organic and inorganic compounds that may pose environmental or health threats. This system includes a gas chromatograph/mass selective detector (GC/MSD).
   
• Biological Weapons Confirmation System, capable of confirming biological weapons (BW) organisms down to the specific strain of bacterium. This system is provided by MIDI, Inc., a biotech company based in Newark, Delaware. It can analyze for all bacterial BW agents (such as anthrax and plague) as well as a host of other microorganisms. The system uses a gas chromatograph and MIDI Sherlock^® Software.

Besides detecting chemical and biological warfare agents, the lab's equipment -- the gold standard in the industry -- can also test non-weapon chemical spills or environmental contaminants such as PCBs, benzene, gasoline, oil or any type of fuel and phosphorus-containing compound.

Since the late 1980s, Agilent (in collaboration with its partners and the military) has fielded about 200 such rolling labs, providing an invaluable resource to the military, federal agencies and private laboratories. These mobile labs can provide fast answers about a chemical or biological threat, and the information can be deployed quickly to assist in decision making about the most effective response.

For more information

To learn more about Agilent's solutions for chemical and biological defense, please visit the Homeland Security Web site. For more information about other Agilent chemical analysis products and resources, please return to the Life Sciences/Chemical Analysis main page.