Agilent technologies has been providing the U.S. military with high-quality instrumentation for the detection, confirmation and monitoring of chemical warfare agents (CWA) for soldier safety, worker safety and general population protection. CWA applications include:
- Stockpile testing to ensure safe containment of munitions containing CW agents
- Perimeter monitoring around chemical depots and demilitarization facilities for airborne CWA
- Monitoring for CWA releases inside demilitarization facilities where chemical munitions are destroyed
- Identification of CWA in soils or fluids for environmental remediation
- Detection of CWA in theater operations including both warfare and terrorist incidents
Click here to refer to a list of most of the chemicals that have been used for military purposes.
In addition to this list, clandestine production of chemical agents could use reactants of somewhat different structure to avoid the attention of enforcement agencies. Sometimes referred to as a “designer agents,” these materials also pose a risk. Detection methods for CWAs should be capable of positive identification of the types of compounds in the CWA list, as well as the identification of designer agents. Of particular concern are the highly toxic G and V series nerve agents such as sarin gas and VX, as well as blister agents such as mustard gas and nitrogen mustard.
Agilent Technologies can configure systems for both continuous, near-real time air monitoring of CWAs and direct introduction of liquid samples. Samples are separated into their individual components using gas chromatography then detected. A dual flame photometric detector (FPD) provides unrivalled detection capability for sulfur and phosphorous containing chemical agents. A second type of detector, called a mass spectral detector (MSD), provides structural confirmation of suspect agents.
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