THE ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY VERIFICATION
PROGRAM
ET
EPA Baitene
imental Protection Agency Jj^ Business of Ilinovs
ETV Joint Verification Statement
TECHNOLOGY TYPE: ION MOBILITY SPECTROMETER
APPLICATION: DETECTION OF CHEMICAL WARFARE AGENTS
AND TOXIC INDUSTRIAL CHEMICALS
TECHNOLOGY NAME: RAID-M
COMPANY: Bruker Daltonics Inc.
ADDRESS: 40 Manning Road PHONE: 978/663-3660
Manning Park FAX: 978/667-5993
Billerica, MA 01821
WEB SITE: www.bdal.com
E-MAIL: ms-sales@bdal.com
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) supports the Environmental Technology Verification (ETV)
Program to facilitate the deployment of innovative or improved environmental technologies through performance
verification and dissemination of information. The goal of the ETV Program is to further environmental protection
by accelerating the acceptance and use of improved and cost-effective technologies. ETV seeks to achieve this goal
by providing high-quality, peer-reviewed data on technology performance to those involved in the design,
distribution, financing, permitting, purchase, and use of environmental technologies. Information and ETV
documents are available at www.epa.gov/etv.
ETV works in partnership with recognized standards and testing organizations, with stakeholder groups
(consisting of buyers, vendor organizations, and permitters), and with individual technology developers. The
program evaluates the performance of innovative technologies by developing test plans that are responsive to the
needs of stakeholders, conducting field or laboratory tests (as appropriate), collecting and analyzing data, and pre-
paring peer-reviewed reports. All evaluations are conducted in accordance with rigorous quality assurance (QA)
protocols to ensure that data of known and adequate quality are generated and that the results are defensible.
Subsequent to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, this ETV approach has been applied to verify the
performance of homeland security technologies. Monitoring and detection technologies for the protection of public
buildings and other public spaces fall within the Safe Buildings Monitoring and Detection Technologies
Verification Program, which is funded by EPA and conducted by Battelle. In this program, Battelle recently
evaluated the performance of the Bruker Daltonics Inc. RAID-M portable ion mobility spectrometer (IMS). This
verification statement, the full report on which it is based, and the test/QA plan for this verification are available
through a link on the ETV Web site (www.epa.gov/etv/centers/centerl 1.html).
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VERIFICATION TEST DESCRIPTION
The objective of this verification test of the RAID-M, a commercially available, portable IMS, was to evaluate its
ability to detect toxic chemicals and chemical agents in indoor air. This verification focused on the scenario of a
portable IMS used by first responders to identify contaminants and guide emergency response activities after
chemical contamination of a building. The following performance characteristics of the RAID-M were evaluated:
response time, recovery time, accuracy, response threshold, repeatability, temperature and humidity effects,
interference effects, cold-/hot-start behavior, battery life, and operational characteristics. Repeatability was
assessed for RAID-M responses, response times, and recovery times.
This verification test took place between August 6 and December 18, 2003. Two units of the RAID-M IMS were
tested simultaneously in most parts of this verification; in some cases, failure of a RAID-M required that testing
continue with just one instrument. Response time, recovery time, accuracy, and repeatability were evaluated by
challenging the RAID-Ms with known vapor concentrations of target toxic industrial chemicals (TICs) and
chemical warfare (CW) agents. RAID-M performance at low target analyte concentrations was evaluated to assess
the response threshold. Similar tests conducted over a range of temperatures and relative humidities (RHs) were
used to establish the effects of these factors on detection capabilities. The effects of potential interferences in an
emergency situation were assessed by sampling selected interferences both with and without the target TICs and
CW agents present. The RAID-Ms were tested with a single TIC after a cold start (i.e., without the usual warm-up
period) from room temperature, from cold storage conditions (5°C), and from hot storage (40°C) to evaluate the
delay time before readings could be obtained and the response speed and accuracy of the RAID-Ms once readings
were obtained. Battery life was determined as the time until RAID-M performance degraded as battery power was
exhausted, in continuous operation. Operational factors such as ease of use, data output, and cost were assessed by
observations of the test personnel and through inquiries to the vendor.
Testing was limited to detecting chemicals in the vapor phase because that mode of application is most relevant to
use by first responders. Testing was conducted in two phases: detection of TICs (conducted in a non-surety
laboratory at Battelle) and detection of CW agents (conducted in a certified surety laboratory at Battelle's
Hazardous Materials Research Center). The TICs used in testing were cyanogen chloride (C1CN; North Atlantic
Treaty Organization [NATO] military designation CK), hydrogen cyanide (HCN; designated AC), phosgene
(COC12; designated CG), chlorine (C12; no military designation), and arsine (AsH3; designated SA). The CW
agents were sarin (GB) and sulfur mustard (HD). The RAID-Ms were not programmed to respond to SA, so testing
with that TIC was minimal.
For relevance to use by first responders, most test procedures were conducted with challenge concentrations of the
TIC or CW agent that were at or near immediately dangerous to life and health (IDLH) or similar levels. Table 1
summarizes the challenge concentrations used in testing. Response thresholds were tested by repeatedly stepping
down in concentration, starting from IDLH levels.
QA oversight of verification testing was provided by Battelle and EPA. Battelle QA staff conducted a technical
systems audit (TSA), a performance evaluation audit, and a data quality audit of all the test data. An independent
TSA was also conducted by EPA.
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Table 1. Target TIC and CW Agent Challenge Concentrations
Chemical Concentrations Type of Level
Hydrogen cyanide (AC) 50 ppm (50 mg/m3) and 5 ppm (5 mg/m3) 1 and 0.1 x IDLEP
Cyanogen chloride (CK) 20 ppm (50 mg/m3) and 2 ppm (5 mg/m3) 1 and 0.1 x IDLH
Phosgene (CG) 2 ppm (8 mg/m3) and 0.2 ppm (0.8 mg/m3) 1 and 0.1 x IDLH
Chlorine (C12) 10 ppm (30 mg/m3) and 1 ppm (3 mg/m3) 1 and 0.1 x IDLH
Arsine (SA) 3 ppm (10 mg/m3) 1 x IDLH
Sarin (GB) 0.014 ppm (0.080 mg/m3) 0.4 x IDLH
Sulfur mustard (HP) 0.063 ppm (0.42 mg/m3) 0.7 x AEGL-2b
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VERIFICATION OF PERFORMANCE
Table 2 summarizes quantitative results for key RAID-M performance parameters. Additional information and the
results of various qualitative evaluations are presented in the subsequent paragraphs.
Table 2. Summary Results for Key Performance Parameters
Performance
Parameter
Response time
(seconds)
Recovery time
(seconds)
Identification
accuracy (%)
Response
threshold (ppm)
Interferent effects:
False negatives*'
TICs
AC CK CG C12
3 to 5 3 to 5 3 to 5 9
15to>600 10 to 40 <10 10 to 40
nearly 100 nearly 100 nearly 100 nearly 100
<0.06 <0.6 0.08 to 0.33(a) 0.25 to 0.5(a)
Latex paint
fumes, floor
cleaner vapors
CW
GB
10
15 to 70
97.5
0.0035 to 0.007(
Latex paint
fumes, floor
cleaner vapors,
air freshener
vapors
Agents
HD
5 to 8
10 to 100
99.4
a) 0.01 to 0.02(a)
Latex paint
fumes, air
freshener
vapors,
DEAE,(C)
gasoline
exhaust
hydrocarbons
80 percent RH, temperature and RH had minimal
effect on response time for any TIC or CW agent. Response times for AC were also unaffected by operating the
RAID-M from a cold start (i.e., with insufficient warm-up time).
Recovery Time: Recovery times for AC ranged from 15 seconds to over 600 seconds, with the fastest recovery
times occurring at low concentrations and high temperatures. In operation from a cold start, the recovery time for
AC was lengthened to at least 600 seconds. Recovery times for GB and HD averaged about 50 seconds and about
34 seconds, respectively, at room temperature, with average recovery times reduced by about half at higher
temperatures. RH had minimal effect on recovery times.
Accuracy: The RAID-Ms were 100% accurate in identifying the TIC being sampled under almost all test
conditions. Accuracy for the CW agents was also high: overall accuracy for GB was 97.5% (excluding data from
interferences that suppressed GB response), and for HD was 99.4%, when all test data were included. In addition
to correctly identifying GB and HD, the RAID-Ms usually also displayed "HN" (the designation for nitrogen
mustard) when sampling either of these agents. For both TICs and CW agents, accuracy was essentially the same
when alternating between different challenge concentrations as when alternating between clean air and a challenge
concentration. Accuracy below 100% occurred primarily for CK, with the lowest accuracy (-50%) at high
humidity and low temperature. The inaccuracy for CK occurred in the form of misidentification of CK as chlorine
gas (C12).
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Repeatability: Repeatability of response for AC was perfect, as full-scale readings consistently resulted at the test
concentrations. The percent relative standard deviation (%RSD) of recovery times was low for AC primarily
because of the long average recovery times for that TIC under many conditions. Response and recovery times were
most variable for CK. RAID-M readings and recovery times for C12 were strongly affected by RH, with the most
variability at high humidity. For the CW agents, the repeatability of RAID-M response to HD improved as
temperature increased, but the repeatability of response time and recovery time for HD lessened. Repeatability of
response for GB did not vary substantially with test conditions, and the only effect on repeatability was that
recovery times for GB were less repeatable at high humidity.
Temperature and Humidity Effects: Temperature and RH had little effect on RAID-M response to the TICs and
CW agents. Higher readings for CK were generally found at lower temperatures, and higher readings for CK and
C12 were generally found at lower humidity. Slightly higher readings for both CW agents were also found at lower
temperatures.
Interferent Effects: In terms of false negatives, RAID-M response for C12 was sharply reduced by latex paint
fumes and floor cleaner vapors; the floor cleaner vapors resulted in zero response for C12. Response to GB was
sharply reduced by latex paint fumes, floor cleaner vapors, and air freshener vapors; the latter two interferents
resulted in zero response for GB. Response for HD was reduced by about half by latex paint fumes, air freshener
vapors, N,N-diethylaminoethanol (DEAE), and gasoline engine exhaust hydrocarbons. However, the inter-
ferents also caused the RAID-Ms to display indications of other agents, including the organophosphate nerve
agents VX and tabun (GA). False positive responses occurred only with floor cleaner vapors and DEAE. Both of
these interferents produced small positive responses in about one-third of the trials; in those cases the RAID-Ms
incorrectly identified the interferent as the nerve agent VX.
Cold-/Hot-Start Behavior: Operating the RAID-M with insufficient warmup time reduced the initial responses to
AC, regardless of whether the cold start occurred after storage at 5°C, at room temperature, or at 40°C. The
response time for AC was not affected by operating from a cold start, but the recovery time was lengthened in such
operation. The delay time before a reading could be obtained ranged from 40 seconds to about 3 minutes, except
for one unit that showed a delay time of nearly 14 minutes after a 40°C storage and cold start.
Battery Life: The useful operating life for fully charged batteries in two RAID-M units in continuous operation
was found to be 6 hours 29 minutes, and 7 hours 52 minutes, respectively.
Operational Characteristics: Several operational characteristics of the RAID-M were noted during testing. In
general, the RAID-M was easy to use, gave clear alarms and a readable and informative display, and provided
error and diagnostic messages. The RAID-M automatically switched between positive and negative ion detection
modes at intervals of a few seconds, allowing detection of a wide variety of chemicals. Among the most important
other operational characteristics were
• The use in the RAID-M of two separate software libraries, one for TICs and one for CW agents, necessitating
switching between libraries to detect both types of chemicals.
• The need for three types of consumables (carbon backflush filter, drying tube, and ammonia dopant), the first
two of which needed to be replaced several times during the nearly five-month test period. RAID-M error
messages calling for replacement of consumables are based on metered time of use, not on the actual state of
the consumable.
• The need for proper warm-up of the RAID-M before use, to assure that full response is achieved when
monitoring starts.
• The failure during testing of two of the three RAID-Ms used in this verification, one due to an electrical fault,
and the other to an apparently incorrect error message that required overriding the message by connection to a
laptop computer.
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original signed by Gabor J. Kovacs
Gabor J. Kovacs
Vice President
Energy and Environment Division
Battelle
4/2/04
Date
original signed by E. Timothy Oppelt 4/7/04
E. Timothy Oppelt Date
Director
National Homeland Security Research Center
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
NOTICE: ETV verifications are based on an evaluation of technology performance under specific, predetermined
criteria and the appropriate quality assurance procedures. EPA and Battelle make no expressed or implied
warranties as to the performance of the technology and do not certify that a technology will always operate as
verified. The end user is solely responsible for complying with any and all applicable federal, state, and local
requirements. Mention of commercial product names does not imply endorsement.
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