Ammonia Detection by Electronic Noses for a Safer Work Environment
Tiago Reis,
Pedro Catalão Moura,
Débora Gonçalves,
Paulo A. Ribeiro,
Valentina Vassilenko,
Maria Helena Fino,
Maria Raposo
Affiliations
Tiago Reis
Laboratory of Instrumentation, Biomedical Engineering and Radiation Physics (LIBPhys-UNL), Department of Physics, NOVA School of Science and Technology, NOVA University of Lisbon, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
Pedro Catalão Moura
Laboratory of Instrumentation, Biomedical Engineering and Radiation Physics (LIBPhys-UNL), Department of Physics, NOVA School of Science and Technology, NOVA University of Lisbon, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
Débora Gonçalves
Institute of Physics of Sao Carlos, University of Sao Paulo, São Carlos 13566-590, Brazil
Paulo A. Ribeiro
Laboratory of Instrumentation, Biomedical Engineering and Radiation Physics (LIBPhys-UNL), Department of Physics, NOVA School of Science and Technology, NOVA University of Lisbon, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
Valentina Vassilenko
Laboratory of Instrumentation, Biomedical Engineering and Radiation Physics (LIBPhys-UNL), Department of Physics, NOVA School of Science and Technology, NOVA University of Lisbon, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
Maria Helena Fino
LASI—Associated Laboratory of Intelligent Systems, CTS—Centre for Technology and Systems, UNINOVA, Department of Electrotechnical and Computer Engineering, NOVA School of Science and Technology, NOVA University of Lisbon, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
Maria Raposo
Laboratory of Instrumentation, Biomedical Engineering and Radiation Physics (LIBPhys-UNL), Department of Physics, NOVA School of Science and Technology, NOVA University of Lisbon, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
Providing employees with proper work conditions should be one of the main concerns of any employer. Even so, in many cases, work shifts chronically expose the workers to a wide range of potentially harmful compounds, such as ammonia. Ammonia has been present in the composition of products commonly used in a wide range of industries, namely production in lines, and also laboratories, schools, hospitals, and others. Chronic exposure to ammonia can yield several diseases, such as irritation and pruritus, as well as inflammation of ocular, cutaneous, and respiratory tissues. In more extreme cases, exposure to ammonia is also related to dyspnea, progressive cyanosis, and pulmonary edema. As such, the use of ammonia needs to be properly regulated and monitored to ensure safer work environments. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work have already commissioned regulations on the acceptable limits of exposure to ammonia. Nevertheless, the monitoring of ammonia gas is still not normalized because appropriate sensors can be difficult to find as commercially available products. To help promote promising methods of developing ammonia sensors, this work will compile and compare the results published so far.
