Air Monitor Instantly Detects Beryllium and Other Elements

[Susan Gawarecki <loc@icx.net>]

This sounds too good to be true--does anyone out there have additional
information?
--SLG

Air Monitor Instantly Detects Beryllium and Other Elements
EarthVision Reports

01/10/00 

LOS ALAMOS, NM, January 10, 2000 - The Los Alamos National Laboratory
(LANL) announced that it has
developed a portable, ultrasensitive air particulate monitor that
instantly and continuously identifies virtually all known
constituent elements in the periodic table and their relative
concentrations. The lab says the inexpensive device, which can
be used indoors or outdoors, takes advantage of the fact that all
elements in the periodic table have well-characterized
atomic energy levels. With a minor modification, the device also can
identify elements in solution. The monitor, which
weighs about 55 pounds and is approximately the size of a milk crate, is
ideal for facilities that handle highly hazardous
materials such as beryllium. LANL said it is currently shrinking the
monitor to make it easier to handle. 

<A
HREF="http://www.earthvision.net/ColdFusion/News_Page1.cfm?NewsID=9137&start=1
">http://www.earthvision.net/ColdFusion/News_Page1.cfm?NewsID=9137&start=1</A>
-- 
==================================================
Susan L. Gawarecki, Ph.D., Executive Director
Oak Ridge Reservation Local Oversight Committee, Inc.
136 S Illinois Ave, Ste 208, Oak Ridge, TN 37830
Phone (865) 483-1333; Fax (865) 482-6572; E-mail loc@icx.net 
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