Our Portfolio: Characterization Projects

CMST Index | Characterization | SCFA

RCRA Metals Analysis by Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

Information
Resources

Images

 

Tech ID: 434
Project Overview
This project is developing a field-deployable instrument for rapid determination of hazardous metals in soils at hazardous and mixed waste sites. The data quality is expected to be suitable for use of the instrumentation as a field analytical method during site characterization. Elements specifically targeted are those of primary concern at the Component Development Integration Facility (CDIF) in Butte, MT. Primary analytes of interest at this facility are As, Pb, Cd, Cu, and Zn. In addition, Ag, Cr, Fe, and Mn are also of interest due to regulatory drivers. The instrumentation will be based on laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). Using LIBS, it will be possible to determine rapidly both the concentration and location of elemental species at a waste site.
Technology Description
In LIBS, laser light is focused on a surface to vaporize a small amount of material. The vaporized material forms a short-lived plasma, which emits light that is collected, dispersed and analyzed. LIBS instrumentation can be made quite compact and only requires line-of-sight access to a material. The method thereby lends itself to integration with other instruments and several instrument configurations. The working head of one portable instrument constructed at LANL is four inches in diameter and eight inches in length. Using a fiber optic cable to guide the laser energy to soil will decrease the size requirements. Also, stand-off analyses of at least fifty feet are anticipated to be achievable. The final form of the prototype instrumentation will be designed to target the instrument configuration needs and data requirements of the CDIF. A prototype instrument that will be capable of detecting many of the above mentioned elements was scheduled for delivery to the CDIF at the end of FY95.

Return to Top