REMOTE ELECTROCHEMICAL SENSOR FOR TRACE-METAL CONTAMINANTS

An electrochemical sensor technology, based on stripping potentiometry at a 100-mu m gold fiber electrode, has been developed for remote det ection of trace metal contaminants, The new probe circumvents technica l difficulties, including the need for mercury surfaces, removal of ox ygen, or forced convection, that previously prevented the adaptation o f stripping analysis to in situ remote operations, The gold microelect rode, connected to a long communication cable, allows convenient measu rements of trace copper, mercury, lead, or selenium at 3-4-min interva ls and instrument/sample distances up to 32 m, The remarkable sensitiv ity of the probe is coupled with multielement capability, high stabili ty, and simplicity, Field demonstrations involving both downhole groun d-water monitoring and in situ shipboard seawater analysis were succes sful, The new probe should be extremely useful. for the characterizati on of priority metal pollutants in hazardous waste sites and for the i mmediate detection of sudden metal contaminations,