Field Test Kit

Field test kits have been used with success on many sites for a variety of contaminants. The types of test kits available and their continued use appear to be a wave of the future. Certainly, the skills of the sampling technician and field test kit user are two very important areas for consideration. 

Key words Explosives analysis, field test kit, propellant stabilizer analysis, thin-layer chromatography, defense clean-up, environmental field test kit... 

Sample Collection Kits and Field Test Kits... 

Two types of kits are discussed in this section, sample collection kits and field test kits. Sample collection kits will generally contain all sample containers, materials, supplies, and forms necessary to perform sample collection activities. Field test kits contain the equipment and supplies necessary to perform field safety screening and rapid field testing of the air, water, and/or soil. Sample collection kits will generally be less expensive to construct than field test kits. Sample collection kits can be pre-positioned throughout a system, while the more expensive field kits may be assigned to specific site characterization teams or personnel. 

The design and construction of sample collection and field test kits is a planning activity, since these kits must be ready to go at a moment s notice in response to a possible contamination threat. In addition to improving the efficacy of the site characterization and sampling activities, advance preparation of sample collection and field test kits offers several advantages ... 

Sample collection and field test kits can be standardized throughout an area to facilitate sharing of kits in the event of an emergency that requires extensive sampling. 

Alkyl halides, alkyl sulfonates and other alkylating agents have also been subject to scmtiny in spheres other than pharmaceuticals, such as in environmental analysis. Various approaches have included two-step SPE, derivatisation with trifluoroacetic anhydride followed by GC/MS (for cyclophosphamide and its analogues in sewage water) SPE on surface water to isolate the antineoplastic agents carmustine, chlorambucil, cyclophosphamide and melphalan for LC-UV and LC-fluorescence measurements and derivatisation of alkyl halides and epoxides with 4-nitrothiophenol followed by HPLC-UV detection (claimed to be better than NBP derivatisation). A patent exists for a field test kit for mustard gases in military use based on NBP derivatisation. 

T. J. Novak (United States Dept, of the Army U, ed.), Microspot test methods and field test kit for on-site inspections of chemical agents. US patent 5935862. 19990810. 

This method is by far the most widely used around the world and generally relies on the direct analytical determination of a key inhibitor component species, such as C1O4, Zn, Mo, PO4, SiC>3, or phosphonate. The degree of control is a function of the frequency and method of analysis, plus the variability in cooling system operation. If inhibitor and other testing is only carried out infrequently (say every 2 to 3 weeks) and only simple field test kits are employed for all analyses, it is unlikely that good long-term control can be satisfactorily achieved. 

The sampling crew is also responsible for obtaining field instruments and test kits, if required by the project scope. Field instruments should be calibrated prior to mobilization as a rule, they come with manufacturer s instruction manuals and calibration standards. Field test kits, which became widely used in the recent years, are also obtained in advance in sufficient quantity and of the quality specified in the SAP. Because different manufacturers make field instruments and test kits in different formats, members of the sampling crew may require special training in their use. 

Ballesteros, B., D. Barceld, A. Dankwardt, et al. 2003. Evaluation of a field test kit for triazine herbicides (SensoScreen TR500) as an alarm system of pesticide water samples contamination. Anal. Chim. Acta 475 105-115. 

Sigma, Drug Stat , field testing kits. 

Belkin, H. E., Kroll, D., Zhou, D.-X., Finkelman, R. B., and Zheng, B. (2003). A field test kit to identify arsenic-rich coals hazardous to human health. Natural Science and Public Health— Prescription for a better environment. Conference Abstracts, USGS Open-File Report 03-097 unpaginated. 

Field-test kits. A large number of wells need to be tested (and retested) for arsenic worldwide. Hence, there is a need for reliable field-test kits that can measure arsenic concentrations down to 10 p,g the WHO guideline value for arsenic in drinking water. Some of the more recently developed kits based on the Gutzeit method can achieve this semiquantitatively (Kinniburgh and Kosmus, 2002). 

In the absence of an unambiguous history of ricin exposure, the preferred diagnostic method is specific immunoassay of ricin in serum, respiratory secretions, or other clinical samples associated with poisoning. Most of the methods described for ricin detection are experimental or are under development. The CDC and the Federal Laboratory Response Network have the capability to detect ricin in environmental specimens using validated polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests and time-resolved immunofluorescence assays, with cell-based bioassays to confirm ricin activity. The U.S. Department of Defense has produced experimental field immunoassays, but commercial distribution of field test kits currently is limited. 

Analysis performed in the field is faster and more economical than analysis done in a laboratory. As analytical techniques are constantly improving and lighter and more portable equipment is being developed, more analytical work can be carried out directly in the field. Test methods are now available for measuring physical properties of oil such as viscosity, density, and even flash point in the field. Test kits have also been developed that can measure total petroleum hydrocarbons directly in the field. While these test kits are less accurate than laboratory methods, they are a rapid screening tool that minimizes laboratory analysis and may provide adequate data for making response decisions. 

Over the past years, immunoassay field test kits have become a prominent field analytical method for environmental analysis. Below is a brief outline of the method (Figure 17.4). 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Test Method 4035 Soil screening for polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons by immunoassay, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, pp. 1-10, 1996. Waters, L. C., Palausky, A., Counts, R. W., and Jenkins, R. A., Experimental evaluation of two field test kits for the detection of PAHs by immunoassay, Field Anal. Chem. Technol, 1, 227-238, 1997. Barcel6, D., Qubina, A., Salau, J. S., and Perez, S., Determination of PAHs in river water samples by ELISA, Anal Chim. Acta, 376, 49-53, 1998. 

S. Al-Sulaiman, G. Murray, M. Islam, A.W. Al-Mithin, A.J. Biedermann. Advantages and limitations of using field test kits for determining bacterial proliferation in oil field waters. Paper No. 08655, Corrosion 2008, NACE, Houston, TX, 2008. 

A better field test for explosives is Exspray. Expray is a unique, aerosol-based explosive detection system field test kit for the explosives detection and... 

Chlorine in Used Petroleum Products (Field Test Kit Method) ... 

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