New method measures exposure to volatile organics

摘要

Just as the Breathalyser test reveals blood alcohol levels, a new analytical method measures exhaled breath for human exposure to airborne volatile organic compounds (VOCs). According to method developer Joachim Pleil of EPA's National Exposure Research Laboratory (Research Triangle Park, NC), researchers can use this technique to collect breath samples as often as every 15 seconds and to analyze these samples for VOCs at part-per-bil-lion levels. Initial studies have tracked human uptake and elimination of potentially hazardous VOCs, allowing researchers to infer contaminant levels in blood and tissue.