Gasmet GT90 Dioxin+ Is an Effective Solution for Dioxin Sampling

The Gasmet GT90 Dioxin+ is an exceptionally robust dioxin sampling system, designed to sample even the lowest dioxin and dioxin-like compound concentrations in harsh industrial environments.  In addition to dioxins, the system is capable of measuring furans and other persistent organic pollutants (POPs), such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

Dioxin in a Nutshell

Dioxin is an umbrella name for polychlorinated dibenzo-para-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans. They are part of the larger class of compounds known as POPs (Persistent Organic Pollutants). Dioxins and POPs are toxic, persistent and nowadays ubiquitously present in our environment.

Where Does Dioxin Appear?

Dioxins are known to form in the industrial waste combustion processes, and escape into the environment via exhaust gases from incinerators. Dioxins are filtered from the flue gas and they escape in the atmosphere via fly ash.

Dr. Werner Tirler is a Gasmet client and the Director of Eco-Research in charge of an analytical laboratory. He has solid experience in environmental research and detection and determination of environmental pollutants.

“Continuous monitoring of dioxin emissions is extremely important due to the health risk dioxin poses to living organisms. Dioxins can accumulate in the human body due to their highly lipophilic properties. Once there, they can cause cancer and have adverse effects on the endocrine, immune and nervous systems”, Tirler explains.

Principle Sources of Dioxins Are:

• Waste incineration
• Metallurgical processes
• Chemical manufacturing
• Energy generation and power plants
• Natural forest fires (to a small extent)
• Backyard trash burning dioxin-skeletal-formula

Long-Term Sampling is Vital in Dioxin Monitoring

In terms of getting reliable results and an accurate representation of the dioxin emissions of an industrial plant, it is very important that enough time is given for the sampling (two-weeks or more). Measurement data show that short-term dioxin monitoring (e.g. 8-hour sampling periods) fails to take the full operational time of a plant into consideration, which in turn, affects the results.

Plants’ operational fluctuation during weekends, nights, and during other exceptional situations have effects on the emissions. With long-term sampling plant operators can ensure that the full spectrum of dioxin emissions is visible in the sampling data.

GT90 Dioxin+ Tailored for Dioxin Monitoring

The GT90 Dioxin+ is designed specifically for long-term monitoring of dioxin emissions. The automatic system represents the cutting-edge technology for dioxin sampling and fulfils all requirements of the dioxin measurement standard EN 1948.

The system has been performance tested and validated, allowing measurements down to 0.0003 – 0.252 ng I-TEQ /m3. The system can withstand dust loads up to 150 mg/m3 and velocities up to 30 m/s without any effect on the performance.

Key benefits of GT90 Dioxin+:

• Long-term isokinetic sampling
• Conformity to EN1948-1
• A sampling of dioxins, furans and other persistent organic pollutants (POPs)
• POPs such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)
• High sensitivity
• Availability of 100%

Read the full article on Gasmet website.