Continuous real-time monitoring of phosphine concentrations in air using electrochemical detectors interfaced by radio telemetry.

This work involves the novel use of a radio telemetry-based system that continuously monitors phosphine using two different types of electrochemical detectors (ECD/RT). The ECD/RT units were used to monitor phosphine inside and at varying distances from large tobacco storage warehouses. A master controller unit transferred the data to a personal computer that received and displayed the data. Supervisory control and data acquisition software assimilated the data from each ECD/RT unit, displayed and updated it as new transmissions were received, and stored the data in secure databases. Phosphine concentrations outside five warehouses simultaneously under fumigation and at the facility boundaries were <0.3 parts per million (ppm). Phosphine levels ranged from 0 to 580 ppm inside sealed warehouses. A comparison was made between the data collected at an ECD/RT unit approximately 4 m downwind of a sealed warehouse and a colorimetric tube at the same location. The final phosphine concentration from the colorimetric method was 0.05 ppm and the average over the 20-minute collection period for the ECD/RT was 0.13 ppm. This system allows for continuous, remote monitoring around warehouses under fumigation and superior time resolution allowing timely response to fugitive emissions of phosphine.