UKHSA – Air Monitoring Equipment

The EA routinely use this range of instruments within their fleet due to it being only EU reference standard light scatter instrument that can detect a range of particulate matter fractions.

Description: EHE has limited mobile capability for real-time monitoring of ambient particulate matter which is a key ambient air quality pollutant of concern for health. Fidas is an aerosol spectrometer developed specifically for regulatory air pollution control. It analyses continuously the fine dust particles present in the ambient air in the size range 180 nm – 18 µm and calculates simultaneously measurements of particulate matter size fractions PM10 and PM2.5 in ambient air. At the same time particulate matter size fractions PM1, PM4, PM total, the particle number and the particle size distribution are calculated and recorded. It thus delivers comprehensive information about the fine dust particles. The equipment has MCERTs1 approval and EU equivalence.

Instrument: ABB LGR Greenhouse Gas Los Gatos Analyser CH4 / CO2 / H20 vapour

Description: EHE has no mobile capability to monitor for greenhouse gases with respect to climate change but also track substances that contribute to ambient air quality issues. Los Gatos Greenhouse Gas Analyser is the world’s most advanced instrument for simultaneous measurements of methane, carbon dioxide and water vapor. It is simple to use, low power and rugged which makes it ideal for field and air quality studies as well as having the ability to measure all gases quickly.

Instrument: Teledyne T500U nitrogen dioxide (NO2) Cavity Attenuated Phase Shift (CAPS) analyser

Description: The T500U CAPS NO2 Analyser represents the next generation of criteria pollutant monitoring technology for the direct measurement of nitrogen dioxide in air. The instrument utilizes a patented Cavity Attenuated Phase Shift (CAPS) technique to provide an extremely sensitive, fast and accurate NO2 measurement in a cost effective and low maintenance instrument package.

Instrument: Teledyne T300 carbon monoxide (CO) analyser

Description: The instrument measures low ranges of carbon monoxide by comparing infrared energy absorbed by a sample to that absorbed by a reference gas according to the Beer-Lambert law. Using a Gas Filter Correlation Wheel, a high energy Infra-Red (IR) light source is alternately passed through a CO filled chamber and a chamber with no CO present. The light path then travels through the sample cell, which has a folded path of 14 meters. The energy loss through the sample cell is compared with the span reference signal provided by the filter wheel to produce a signal proportional to concentration, with little effect from interfering gases within the sample. This design produces excellent zero and span stability and high signal to noise ratio, allowing extreme sensitivity.

Instrument: Teledyne T400 ozone analyser

Description: This absorption analyser uses a system based on the Beer-Lambert law for measuring low ranges of ozone in ambient air. A 254 nm UV light signal is passed through the sample cell where it is absorbed in proportion to the amount of ozone present. Periodically, a switching valve alternates measurement between the sample stream and a sample that has been scrubbed of ozone. The result is a true, stable ozone measurement.

Instrument: Teledyne T101 sulphur dioxide (SO2) analyser

Description: The Model T101 hydrogen sulphide (H2S) analyser uses the proven Ultraviolet (UV) fluorescence principle to measure hydrogen sulphide at levels commonly required for ambient air monitoring. The Model T101 is equipped with an internally mounted catalytic converter set at 315°C to convert H2S to SO2.