Teledyne CETAC Blog

Along the banks of a nine-kilometer stretch of the Rio Doce in Brazil are bright orange barriers similar to ones deployed at sea to help contain oil spills. The barriers were erected to protect plants and animals along the banks from toxic mud that has traveled more than 500 km from a collapsed dam that was holding wastewater produced by mining activities. The 2.2 billion cubic feet of toxic mud has now reached the Atlantic Ocean. On its way to the Ocean, the mud destroyed villages close to the dam and leveled approximately nine square kilometers of vegetation.

Scientists from the University of Queensland and Trinity College Dublin studied the most active volcano in Europe, Sicily’s Mount Etna, to better understand its eruption history. Currently, there is no way to predict volcanic eruptions, but tiny crystals formed prior to an eruption, may provide valuable evidence of the process that leads up to and the timing of volcanic activity, information that may help in building an early warning system.

Teledyne CETAC and TOFWERK AG (Switzerland) recently announced the installation of the world’s first combination of an Analyte Excite excimer laser ablation system with HelEx II sample chamber and ARIS rapid aerosol introduction system coupled to an icpTOF 2R mass spectrometer at the University of Vienna. The system will be used for imaging element concentration distribution in biological samples, and will enable transmission of aerosol generated from laser pulses to the mass spectrometer in less than 30 milliseconds.

The chemistry industry has an innovation problem. At least that’s according to a survey of 186 chemists from academia and industry completed recently by Elsevier’s Reaxys, a web-based chemical data retrieval tool. An overwhelming majority (78%) of chemist surveyed felt that prospective chemists are going into other sciences because of the opportunity to participate in more “newsworthy” breakthroughs, while 80% felt that innovation was suffering because of an overemphasis on applied research.

Trace element maps give unique insight to homogeneity, enrichment, and spatial distribution of elements in solid samples. Depending on the sample type, we can gain a wealth of information from sample maps beyond what is available from single or multiple spot analyses or single lines/rasters.  

Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) provides high spatial lateral resolution and can be used to construct trace element maps with minimal destruction of the sample. A study using LA-ICP-MS completed by Teledyne CETAC, Arkansas Biosciences Institute and Arkansas State University compiled and interpreted elemental maps for three distinct sample types: banded iron formation (BIF), human teeth and fish otolith.  

Teledyne CETAC is one of the industry leaders in nebulizer systems, offering a comprehensive line of specialized sample introduction accessories for ICP-AES and ICP-MS. Among our systems are the Marin-5 Enhanced Nebulizer System, the U5000AT⁺ Ultrasonic Nebulizer, the U6000AT⁺ Ultrasonic Nebulizer & Membrane Desolvator and the Aridus II Desolving Nebulizer. The newest member of the CETAC sample introduction family is the Aridus3 Desolvating Nebulizer System, which is a 4^th generation of a specialized liquid sample introduction accessory for ICP-MS.

“Those in charge of running any type of organization or laboratory must be flexible and look for innovative methods to connect with, and transfer information, among their staff.”[i]

In late January 2017, the Department of Environmental Quality released a study of pockets of groundwater outside of Medford and Central Point, Oregon. Among the 107 wells tested, 21 percent had higher levels of nitrates, while four percent had higher than recommended health levels. Twenty-two percent of the wells contained arsenic and six percent had unhealthy levels. While the findings were lower than expected, the presence of nitrates and arsenic in drinking water raises a red flag for local residents.

From 1868 to 1988, the Geneva Foundry operated in Geneva, NY manufacturing cast iron components. According to historical records the site did not have pollution control on its smokestack until 1970. Even after that, the controls did not work as they should have. The foundry used recycled iron that contained lead and other metals while the furnaces burned coal containing arsenic and mercury. In 1986, a neighbor to the foundry complained to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation about chemical drums that were leaking near their property. That complaint led to major contamination discovery 30-years later.

Welcome to Teledyne CETAC's blog site where we will be posting blogs relevant to you and your applications.

Content will include technical background on our product categories ranging from Laser Ablation, Nebulizers and Automation.  All of these will be coupled with an increased effort to bring our instruments and scientific background to real-world applications, events, and industry.