Summary
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has increased dramatically the demand for hand sanitizers. A major concern is methanol adulteration that caused more than 700 fatalities in Iran and U.S.A. (since February 2020). In response, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has restricted the methanol content in sanitizers to 0.063 vol% and blacklisted 212 products (as of November 20, 2020). Here, we present a low-cost, handheld, and smartphone-assisted device that detects methanol selectively in sanitizers between 0.01 and 100 vol% within two minutes. It features a nanoporous polymer column that separates methanol selectively from confounders by adsorption. A chemoresistive gas sensor detects the methanol. When tested on commercial sanitizers (total 76 samples), methanol was quantified in excellent (R
2
= 0.99) agreement to “gold standard” gas chromatography. Importantly, methanol quantification was hardly interfered by sanitizer composition and viscosity. This device meets an urgent need for on-site methanol screening by authorities, health professionals, and even laymen.
Methanol occurs naturally
in most alcoholic distillates. Yet, suitable
detectors to check liquor adherence to legal limits and, most importantly,
monitor in situ methanol content during distillation
are not available. Usually, distillers rely on error-prone human olfaction
while “gold standard” liquid or gas chromatography (GC)
are rarely used being off-line, time-consuming, and expensive. Here,
we explore monitoring the methanol concentration during industrial
distillation of cherry, apple, plum, and herb liquor (196 samples)
with a low-cost and hand-held detector combining a Pd-doped SnO2 sensor with a packed bed separation column of Tenax TA. Therein,
individual methanol concentrations (0.1–1.25 vol % or 153–3266
g methanol per hectoliter of pure ethanol) are quantified rapidly
(within 2 min), bias-free and with high precision (i.e., 0.082 vol
%) by headspace analysis, as confirmed by GC. Most importantly, methanol
levels above E.U. and U.S. legal limits were recognized reliably without
interference by much higher ethanol contents (5–90 vol %) and
aromas. Also, the detector worked well even with viscous and inhomogeneous
mash samples containing fruit pulp. As a result, this device can help
consumers, legal authorities, and distillers to check product safety,
guide distillation, and monitor even fermentation to possibly prevent
occupational methanol exposure.
A radiological survey on the iron- and steel-making plant ILVA Taranto (Italy) was mainly focused on contamination source-term investigation and exposure impact evaluation of the volatile radionuclides 210Po and 210Pb. The activity concentrations of 210Po and 210Pb in the raw materials, dust particles, surficial soils and atmospheric particulate samples collected in the area of ILVA Taranto were determined. The results showed that the activity concentrations in the raw materials were in the range of 3.46-17.9 Bq kg(-1) for 210Po and 3.50-16.8 Bq kg(-1) for 210Pb, which could create maximum annual inventories of 2.64 × 1011 Bq of 210Po and 2.71 × 1011 Bq of 210Pb if a total quantity of 22 Mt per year raw materials was consumed in the plant. The activity concentrations in dust particles emitted from the chimney of the ILVA Taranto were in the range of 5.91-85.6 kBq kg(-1) for 210Po and 5.44-34.6 kBq kg(-1) for 210Pb, releasing more 210Po than 210Pb. The activity concentrations in surficial soils were in the range of 49.3-140 Bq kg(-1) for 210Po and 51.6-150 Bq kg(-1) for 210Pb, a variation of the activity concentrations being observable with distance. The activity concentrations in atmospheric particulate were in the range of 43.1-564 μBq m(-3) for 210Po and 618-1099 μBq m(-3) for 210Pb, and it was observed that the mass specific activity concentrations of 210Po and 210Pb in the atmospheric particulate are one to three orders of magnitude higher than that found in the top soil. After deduction of the background contribution, about 27.2 μSv per year of the estimated committed effective dose at mean and 49.2 μSv per year at maximum could be attributed to 210Po and 210Pb emitted from the chimney of the ILVA Taranto and inhaled by the public in the form of atmospheric particulate, of which about 63.5-69.0% was the contribution of 210Pb. No specific interventions should be required, as far as only inhalation of 210Po and 210Pb are concerned.
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