Worldwide Solutions - February 2008 - (Page 22) GERSTEL Solutions Worldwide Application Prof. Gon Ok from the Department of Earth Environmental Engineering at the Pukyong National University. GERSTEL Gas Sampler GS 1 Schematic diagram of a reactor system used for firecrackers. Adsorbent Packing of Thermal desorption tube. Technical and analysis detail In addition to particulate matter, the fumes released during and after the combustion of fire-work materials contain significant amounts of Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs). This is the conclusion reached by scientists at the Pukyong National University in Busan, Korea. Since fireworks are among the favorite pastimes of Koreans, the scientists set out to determine the environmental impact of fireworks and the quality of the air breathed by those in the area where the spectacle unfolds. In short, the goal of the project was to get quantitative data about HAP concentrations. Prof. Gon Ok and his colleagues from the Department of Earth Environmental Engineering at the Pukyong National University proceeded as follows to determine the increase in HAP concentrations during fireworks: Air samples were taken at a beach in Haeundae in the summer season, when tourists light up an estimated 1,000 – 2,000 firecrackers per night, or 50,000 – 100,000 per season pursuing their pyrotechnical hobby. For comparison, air samples were drawn in the urban area around the university where firecracker fuses are rarely, if ever, lit as a leisure activity. “In order to provide quantitative results and solid conclusions“, Prof. Gon Ok explains, “we developed a special reactor in which we can explode fireworks under controlled laboratory conditions while sampling the emitted gases for analysis. The resulting gases were sampled using the GERSTEL Gas Sampler GS 1 directly attached to the fireworks reactor. Gas samples were drawn onto thermal desorption tubes filled with carbon-based absorbents, Carbosieve S-III, Carbopack B, and Carbopack C. Sampling and analysis was performed following US-EPA method TO-17: “Determination of Volatile Organic Compounds in Ambient Air Using Active Sampling Onto Sorbent Tubes”. The tubes were subsequently thermally desorbed using a GERSTEL Thermal Desorption System GERSTEL Solutions Worldwide – February 2008 22
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