Literature search, review, and compilation of data for chemical and radiochemical sensors: Task 1 report

Abstract

During the next several decades, the US Department of Energy is expected to spend tens of billions of dollars in the characterization, cleanup, and monitoring of DOE`s current and former installations that have various degrees of soil and groundwater contamination made up of both hazardous and mixed wastes. Each of these phases will require site surveys to determine type and quantity of hazardous and mixed wastes. It is generally recognized that these required survey and monitoring efforts cannot be performed using traditional chemistry methods based on laboratory evaluation of samples from the field. For that reason, a tremendous push during the past decade or so has been made on research and development of sensors. This report contains the results of an extensive literature search on sensors that are used or have applicability in environmental and waste management. While restricting the search to a relatively small part of the total chemistry spectrum, a sizable body of reference material is included. Results are presented in tabular form for general references obtained from data base searches, as narrative reviews of relevant chapters from proceedings, as book reviews, and as reviews of journal articles with particular relevance to the review. Four broad sensor types are covered: electrochemical processes, piezoelectric devices, fiber optics, and radiochemical processes. The topics of surface chemistry processes and biosensors are not treated separately because they often are an adjunct to one of the four sensors listed. About 1,000 tabular entries are listed, including selected journal articles, reviews of conference/meeting proceedings, and books. Literature to about mid-1992 is covered.