Full Description

The events of Sept. 11, 2001, forever changed theclimate of the United States and exposed thenation's vulnerabilities. In response, the US EnvironmentalProtection Agency (USEPA) prepared detailedguidance for drinking water utilities to follow in cases ofsuspected or actual incidents of intentional contaminationof public water systems. Under the USEPA protocol,water utility personnel, as the authority onsite, wouldconduct an initial investigation or site characterization.Key to this preliminary assessment is the use of rapidanalytical techniques for field screening.The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Water and Sewer Authorityand the University of Pittsburgh School of Engineeringevaluated a number of analytical methods that utilitystaff or emergency response teams could use to generatepreliminary data during the site characterizationphase. The technologies included rapid immunoassays,rapid enzyme tests, rapid polymerase chain reactionmethods, field-deployable gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and acute toxicity screening.Research results indicated that, although analyticalcapabilities are rapidly improving, field-screeningtechnologies are not a substitute for standard laboratoryanalyses and the data such technologies provideshould be considered presumptive.The rapid analytical techniques currently availablecan aid in assessing hazards and directing appropriateoperational and public health responses. However,additional studies are needed to determine matrixeffects, the influence of interferences, the incidence ofinaccurate results, and the limitations of detectioncapabilities. Includes 5 references, tables, figures.

Product Details

Edition: Vol. 96 - No. 1 Published: 01/01/2004 Number of Pages: 13 File Size: 1 file , 1.7 MB