How to measure container air
How to measure container air
No universal instrument
There are no affordable and easy to use instruments that detect and identify all chemicals that may be present in container air. However, if the goods are well characterized and the chemical of concern are already identified, instruments dedicated for that purpose can be used. For example, a container with shoes may have high levels of organic solvents emanating from the manufacturing process. The shoe supplier should be able to tell which solvents were used. The most well characterized containers (and perhaps with the highest health risks) are the ones that have been treated with a known fumigant.
Some manufacturers of measurement instruments useful for container screening.
Measure all and ventilate some – or simply ventilate all?
In facilities with high throughput of containers, it may be wise to measure all containers to determine which ones should be pre-ventilated. This requires advanced instruments and trained personell.
With a limited flow of containers, it is probably more cost-effective to pre-ventilate every container, to be on the safe side.
We are often asked if Evaqvent offers measurement of container air. We do not, however, we have extensive experience using advanced scientific instruments as well as simple handheld ones. We are happy to discuss this issue and provide guidance on a rational approach.
How to sample
Container air should be sampled without opening the container. This is done by inserting a sampling probe between the rubber sealings surrounding the doors. Unfortunately, most sampling probes that come with the analytical instruments are too fragile for repeated use.
We provide a specially designed a solid stainless steel sampling probe that is easy to insert between the closed doors
