ChemDAQ Inc., the market leader in gas detection systems for the Healthcare and Food & Beverage Industries, announced today that Enviro Tech Chemical Services Inc., a major supplier of PAA, completed an independent validation study on their Peracetic acid vapor sensor.

ChemDAQ’s PAA vapor sensor (used in both the portable, SafeCide, and the fixed, Steri-Trac, monitoring systems) utilizes patent pending filter technology to eliminate interference from Hydrogen peroxide and does not respond to Acetic acid (common interferents in PAA vapor detection). The study confirms the precision, accuracy, and specificity of the ChemDAQ PAA Sensor. Portions of the abstract from Enviro Tech’s study, entitled “Validation of a Real-Time Peracetic Acid Vapor Sensor,” are shown below:

ChemDAQ’s PAA vapor sensor proved to be a comparably accurate unit for measuring vapor phase PAA in real-time. The results from the PAA vapor sensor as well as the absorption column showed a strong linear correlation between PAA solution concentration and vapor production. ChemDAQ’s PAA sensor correlated well with the results of the absorption column yielding a difference of ≤10.0% between PAA solution concentrations of 25-100 ppm. There was no detectable interference from hydrogen peroxide or acetic acid.

The full validation study can be found at http://envirotech.com/vaporvalidation/

PAA has become widely used across many industries including healthcare, meat & poultry processing, aseptic, and water treatment due to its efficacy, organic approval status, and safe disinfection byproducts, but the vapors can pose a risk to workers if not controlled. To control PAA vapor, you need to accurately measure it.

Breathing PAA can irritate the lungs causing coughing and/or shortness of breath. Higher exposures can cause a build-up of fluid in the lungs (pulmonary edema), a medical emergency, with severe shortness of breath. High or repeated exposure can also damage the liver and kidneys.

Changes or failures can occur at any time, making monitoring an essential safety measure.

The regulatory environment concerning Peracetic acid is changing due to increasing concerns of employee safety. In 2014, the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) released a Short-Term Exposure Limit (STEL) for Peracetic acid of 0.4 ppm. Recently, NIOSH has proposed an Immediately Dangerous to Life and Health (IDLH) level of 0.55 ppm, which is currently under review.

According to David Hilliker, ChemDAQ’s President and CEO, “There previously was no commercially available technology to measure real-time PAA vapors in the air, so ChemDAQ developed portable and fixed gas detection solutions to help address increasing industry concerns. With these tools, PAA vapor can be measured over time or on the spot, giving you the ability to control your environment and prevent or address concerns in real-time”.

There is now a fast, easy, and validated way to give employees peace of mind they are safe, while minimizing disruption to your operations. Join countless others, and start monitoring today.

For more information, visit www.chemdaq.com.