Articles | Volume 16, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1915-2023
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1915-2023
Research article
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13 Apr 2023
Research article | Highlight paper |  | 13 Apr 2023

Ethylene oxide monitor with part-per-trillion precision for in situ measurements

Tara I. Yacovitch, Christoph Dyroff, Joseph R. Roscioli, Conner Daube, J. Barry McManus, and Scott C. Herndon

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Cited articles

Aeris Technologies: MIRA Pico EtO – ultrasensitive ethylene oxide analyzer, https://aerissensors.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/MIRA-Pico_EtO_191208_FINAL_quartz.pdf, last access: 28 September 2022. 
Aerodyne Research Inc.: Laser trace gas and isotope analyzers, https://www.aerodyne.com/product/laser-trace-gas-and-isotope- analyzers/, last access: 28 September 2022a. 
Aerodyne Research Inc.: TILDAS compact single laser ethylene oxide analyzer, https://www.aerodyne.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/EthyleneOxide.pdf, last access: 28 September 2022b. 
Entanglement Technologies: AROMA-ETO precision chemical vapor analyzer, https://entanglementtech.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/AROMA-ETO-Specifications.pdf, last access: 6 October 2022. 
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Executive editor
I agree with the handling editor that the technique described is a breakthrough in analytical capability with potential wide ranging applications.
Short summary
Ethylene oxide is a toxic, carcinogenic compound used in the medical and bulk sterilization industry. Here we describe a precise and fast laser-based ethylene oxide monitor. We report months-long concentrations at a Massachusetts site, and we show how they suggest a potential emission source 35 km away. This source, and another, is confirmed by driving the instrument downwind of the sites, where concentrations were tens to tens of thousands of times greater than background levels.
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