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EPA Memo on Collision/Reaction Cell ICP-MS for Drinking Water Analysis
July 14, 2006
A memo from Gregory Carroll, Director of US EPA’s Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water (OGWDW), was sent to regional certification officers detailing EPA’s position on the use of ICP-MS with collision/reaction cells (CRCs) for regulated drinking water analysis with method 200.8. There has been considerable discussion on this issue, with Certification Officers taking various viewpoints as to the validity of CRCs for this analysis. To clear up the confusion, EPA have announced that ICP-MS systems fitted with CRC technology must be operated only in standard, non-cell, mode when used with method 200.8 for regulated drinking water analysis. Note that this does not affect the use of CRCs in unregulated analyses, or for other programs such as NPDES or RCRA. Click here to download the attached PDF file containing the memorandum.
EPA Support the Use of CRCs
The memorandum states that “…collision cell technology represents a major technological advance and [the EPA] generally support its use…”. EPA has reservations about whether the technology falls within the scope of the 200.8 method, which was written in 1994, prior to the introduction of CRC technology in 1997, but not about the technology itself.
Debate
The position was debated in a meeting attended by stakeholders from EPA’s OGWDW, laboratories, and instrument manufacturers on August 15 2006. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s North American Field Marketing Manager, Fergus Keenan, attended the meeting and presented material highlighting the benefits of CRCs for this type of analysis. The outcome of the meeting was for further investigation of the data quality improvements to be made. Thermo specialists are working with EPA on this investigation. The recommendation in EPA’s memorandum will stand pending this further action.
New Method Signals Acceptance of CRC Technology
Mr Carroll’s memo also states that EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD) have begun work on an updated method 200.8, incorporating CRC technology. This is expected in 2007 and signals the industry’s acceptance of the technology as a major benefit. The introduction of this new method will be great news for labs and instrument manufacturer’s alike.
What is Collision/Reaction Cell Technology for ICP-MS?
CRCs represent a major step forward for the technique of ICP-MS, such as our XSeriesII. First commercially introduced in 1997 by Micromass (subsequently GVI), CRCs are a technological method of removing the polyatomic ions that can form in the plasma and interfere with analytes of interest. They work by producing interactions (reactions or differential kinetic energy reduction) between the polyatomic ions and a reagent gas introduced into a cell between the mass spectrometer sampling interface and the mass analyzer. CRC-equipped instruments now account for around 80 % of ICP-MS units sold.
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