Narrator: This is Science Today. A new air sampler, which can effectively trap and evaluate fine particle pollutants in both their solid and gas phases has been developed by scientist Lara Gundel of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. This sampler can greatly impact future EPA air quality standards and lead to a definitive understanding of how pollutants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and pesticides, affect our health.
Gundel: I guess the innovations we made were a way to separate the gases and particles accurately and then to be able to collective measure particles and the gases separately and accurately.
Narrator: Gundel achieved this by coating an inner tube of roughened glass inside the filter with sticky resin beads, which were finely ground up until their pores were small enough to trap gas particles.
Gundel: We quickly decided that this new technology that we had, these new kinds of sampler designs, could be used in outdoor air, in general atmospheric questions.
Narrator: Gundel is currently collaborating with other scientists and the EPA to test this sampler at various sites across the country. For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.