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Field Demonstration of Portable Headspace Sampling in a Simulated Cargo Container

Published

Author(s)

Megan E. Harries, Thomas J. Bruno

Abstract

Screening technologies are necessary to counteract illegal trafficking of drugs and people through ports of entry in the United States and internationally. Here we present results from initial field testing of a recently-developed portable vapor sensing unit, portable PLOT-cryoadsorption. A surplus US Army bunker was used as a simulated cargo container, and four sets of experiments demonstrated the unit's functionality in a field environment. Three chemical mixtures acted as surrogates for materials relevant to screening operations: explosives-related compounds, clandestine grave-related compounds, and gasoline. Portable PLOT-cryoadsorption successfully detected components of each mixture in a variety of weather conditions and with short vapor collection times well-suited to a field environment.
Citation
Forensic Chemistry
Volume
16

Keywords

cargo screening, vapor sampling device

Citation

Harries, M. and Bruno, T. (2019), Field Demonstration of Portable Headspace Sampling in a Simulated Cargo Container, Forensic Chemistry, [online], https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forc.2019.100182 (Accessed November 9, 2024)

Issues

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Created August 31, 2019, Updated June 3, 2020