Background

In the 1970s the United States created the Clean Air Act, setting standards to regulate emission of pollutants that "endanger public health and welfare" with oversight by the U.S. Environmental protection Agency (EPA). In the late 1990s the EPA issued method IO-3.3 detailing the sensitivity required by EDXRF analyzers for measuring the elemental composition of air filters. The EPA method is also used globally in many regions around the world for air quality monitoring programs. To meet testing requirements in the 21st century Rigaku offers NEX CG, a 50 W indirect excitation EDXRF system using secondary targets and polarization in full 90° Cartesian geometry for superior sensitivity and analysis of elemental particulate matter on air filters.