Explosives Promote Partnership

The Metrohm IC system is provided with an additional filter that allows reliable detection even 0.2 ppb, that is 0.2 millionth gram of perchlorate per 1 kg of sample.

When ever a rocket starts its journey into space, families sit spellbound in front of the television set and spectators press their noses against wire fences.

Although manned flight into space have become less frequent since the Columbia accident, rockets still leave the earth almost everyday, for example to bring satellites into orbit or for military purposes.

The driving force used in these rockets is the successor to gunpowder, which was probably first invented by the Chinese about year 1000 and then independently in about 1200 by Berthold Schwarz.

The Chinese and the Franciscan monk used a mixture of potassium nitrate, charcoal and sulphur.

Compared to modern propellants, gunpowder is a weak explosive.

This is why explosives that are used today contain perchlorate....and this is where the problem starts:- Many companies that manufacture rockets and rocket propellants are located in the south-western USA near Las Vegas.

For many years these companies have dumped their perchlorate waste in unchecked land fills or let the waste water run into the rivers, particularly the Colorado.

Today unnaturally high perchlorate concentrations are found in more that 22 states in the USA and more than 15 million inhabitants are exposed to perchlorate in their drinking water.

Perchlorate is a poison that causes serious damage to the thyroid gland even at low concentrations.

This primailry affects newborn infants and babies.

Wheras the US Defence Dept is of the opinion that 200 ppb is still acceptable, the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) finds it necessary to lower the maximum permitted concentration to 1ppb.

Regardless of whatever political opinion wins the upper hand, this means that we analysts have to detect concentrations of 1ppb or less.

In principle the detection of 1ppb on one of our Metrohm Advanced Ion Chromatography systems is not a problem, but the EPA has decided to make the analysis more realistic, which causes additional difficulties: In addition to this millionth of a gram of perchlorate, 1Kg of sample also contains 3 grams of chloride, nitrate and sulphate.

In principal this is the same as identifying two Swiss inhabitants amongst the whole of the Swiss population...so this is where it becomes complicated.

In order to separate the matrix- the additional substances, two systems must be combined with each other: an Ion Chromatography System with a mass spectrometer.

The ion chromatography separates the sample components; the mass spectrophotometer then evaporates the sample under high vacuum, accelerates the ions and accurately determines the perchlorate.

Our Metrohm IC system is thus provided with an additional filter that allows us to reliably detects even 0.2 ppb, that is 0.2 millionth gram of perchlorate per 1 kg of sample.

Although Metrohm manufacturers extremely efficient IC systems, our product line does not include a mass spectrometer.

In order to still be able to supply systems for the EPA, Metrohm has entered a cooperation with Agilent, the former Analytical Division of Hewlett Packard (HP).

Agilent produces the best mass spectrometer available on the market and what's more appropriate that to combine with this the best IC system!.

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