Laser-induced plasma spectroscopy (LIPS): a versatile tool for monitoring heavy metal aerosols Original Research Article

Particulate heavy metals can have severe toxic and carcinogenic effects when inhaled in higher concentrations. Therefore, it is desirable to establish versatile instruments for a complete and rapid monitoring of particulate emissions of anthropogenic origin to assess hazard levels, evaluate control systems, or provide instantaneous feedback for process control. The aim of this work is to develop a mobile system for a direct analysis of automatically acquired aerosol filter samples. Laser-induced plasma spectroscopy (LIPS) is employed to provide quasi-on-line information on the elemental composition of the deposited aerosols. The system consists of a 19″-rack with a laser, respectively, spectrometer/detector module connected to a miniaturized sensor head through fibre optics, allowing a maximum flexibility of the set-up. Besides the analytical merits of the LIPS technique, preliminary results from a first measurement campaign at a municipal waste incineration facility are addressed. An automated in-line filter sampling interface for the LIPS apparatus was tested for the first time.