Abstract

Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and Ultraviolet Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (UV-DOAS) are now mature technologies that have been available to industry and government for many years. However, their widespread use is just beginning to expand. From their early introduction, these technologies appeared to offer a significant advancement in monitoring capability and they allowed for substantial reductions in operational costs. In spite of this, they have not received widespread acceptance or commercialization. This appears to be due to a number of factors: 1) the lack of formal regulatory acceptance 2) the lack of appropriate protocols for both system operation and data interpretation, 3) the perceived complexity of the instruments, and 4) lack of an organized approach to demonstrating their applicability to monitoring in specific industries. In this paper we look at these issues and outline the current status with regard to current FTIR and UV-DOAS systems.

© 1997 Optical Society of America