Smoke Pens: Where to Buy Smoke Pencils, Smoke Puffers & Smoke Generating Tools InspectAPedia® -
Where to buy smoke pencils, smoke pencil sticks, smoke puffers, smoke guns, air current tubes, & energy savings inspection equipment: smoke gun suppliers
Catalog of smoke generating devices for air movement, air leaks, smoke detector testing, duct leak testing, fireplace testing, appliance flue vent and chimney testing, etc.
Using smoke emitter pencils, smoke guns, or smoke generators for finding air leaks & building heat loss
Building heat loss & energy efficiency tools & procedures: smoke matches, smoke pellets, smoke generators
How to find and seal building air leaks, how to find and correct points of un-wanted building heat loss or heat gain
Questions & answers about choosing, buying, & using smoke pens, smoke pencils and related HVAC and building air movement test tools
Solar Age Magazine Articles on Renewable Energy, Energy Savings, Construction Practices
Where to choose & buy smoke test equipment for HVAC & air movement tests in buildings: This article provides sources of smoke pencils and air leak detection tools for building energy savings.
InspectAPedia offers impartial, unbiased advice without conflicts of interest.
We will block advertisements which we discover or readers inform us are associated with bad business practices,
false-advertising, or junk science. Our contact info is at
InspectAPedia.com/Contact.htm.
This article series discusses finding and curing basement heat loss points, a step in how to find points of heat loss and air leaks in buildings using a variety of tools and inspection methods including infra red, smoke tests, visual inspection, and tests.
This detailed article accompanies a building weatherization and energy-savings company through a detailed building inspection for heat loss points and air leaks. The author accompanied Princeton Energy Partners as they used the blower door, thermal imaging, smoke guns, and visual inspection to pinpoint building air leaks, convective loops, heat loss points, air infiltration and air exfiltration on a building. Accompanying text is reprinted/adapted/excerpted with permission from Solar Age Magazine - editor Steven Bliss.
Our page top photo shows the website author using a smoke tester to view air movement into an un-insulated wall cavity.
Where to Find & Buy Smoke Pencils for Tracing Air Leaks in buildings
Question: source to purchase smoke testing equipment
Where can I buy a smoke pencil ? -- Jerry Fry, Monterey CA
Answer:
Immediately below we provide a list of companys providing smoke guns, pencils, bombs, emitters, puffers and similar HVAC and building air movement test equipment. We also provide links to MSDS and other safety and usage guides for smoke emitting and test equipment.
Our photo (at page top and again at below left) shows a simple smoke generating "pencil" in use to test for air leaks at an opening in an icynene foam insulated crawl space. The glass tube is filled with a chemical that generates a chemical "smoke" when the tube ends are broken off and air is pushed through the tube by the rubber bulb in the website author's hand.
At Smoke Gun for Air Leaks we discuss the use of smoke generators, and smoke guns or smoke pencils in buildings.
Catalog of Types of Smoke Emitters, Pencils, Guns, Puffers & Where to Buy Them
Smoke pencils, smoke guns, smoke matches, canned smoke, and fine powder smoke "puffers" are valuable for detecting where air infiltrates (leaks in) or exfiltrates (leaks out) of buildings or HVAC ducts, can be purchased from a variety of building and environmental test equipment suppliers including those listed below.
Watch out: some smoke tracing emitters produce highly toxic fumes (such as sulfuric acid H2SO4) that can injure lungs, eyes, skin, or even cause death if used at high concentrations in an enclosed space.
BJÖRNAX smoke products is the original producer of many of the smoke emitting products listed here and distributed by a wide range of suppliers. Contact: Björnax AB, Stråssa Företagsby, 71177 Stråssa Sweden, Tel: +46 (0)581 431 50, Fax: +46 (0)581 432 06, Website: http://www.bjornax.se
Fire Systems Services, an Australian company, is a large distributor of smoke generators and other fire and fire-fighting-related equipment Contact: Fire System Services, Unit 1, 16 Glasgow Street, Wingfield, South Australia 5013, Mail to: P.O. Box 16, Prospect SA 5082, Tel: +61 8 8445 6300, Website: http://www.firesys.com.au/
Gastec, produces a wide range of gas detector tubes. Using the same technology Gastec produces a tube, the Gastec Irritant Smoke Qualitative Fit Testing Kit No. 9501 that operates as a smoke emitter, producing an ultra-fine white tracer smoke" that can be used to observe air movement.
The Gastec irritant smoke qualitative fit testing kit No. 9501 is designed to meet and be used in accordance with OSHA 29 CFR 1910.134.
When the ends of the glass tube are cut off, the reagent in the tube reacts with air (squeezed through the tube with a rubber bulb) to produce visible and highly irritating smoke.
Rubber caps are provided to seal the open tube so that it can be re-used later, but be sure to see our warnings about the corrosivity of these materials discussed below under National Draeger and the Dräger "smoke tube" # CH16631
Watch out: according to the warnings published by Gastec and included with these tubes, the smoke emitted by these tubes is dangerous to life. Read all instructions and warnings before attempting to use this product.
Kitagawa produces gas detector tubes (for example used with Sensidyne gas detector pumps). their product line may include smoke emitter tubes for use with different instruments.
National Draeger, the Dräger Air Current Test Kit is described by the manufacturer:
Often the determination of airflow in HVAC ducts, fume hoods and other ventilation systems is necessary to locate problems. This Air Current Test Kit is a quick and inexpensive way to help make these determinations. It works by creating a highly visible non-irritating dense white smoke that can be followed to determine the airflow direction.
To use, simply open the ends of the glass tubes with the supplied opener. Insert one end into the aspirator bulb. Squeeze the aspirator bulb to release a plume of smoke. Tubes are reuseable until the medium has been extinguished. Caps are provided to cover the tube ends between uses.
The Dräger Flow Check Airflow Indicator (much more costly), is described by the maufacturer as follows:
The Dräger Flow Check system produces harmless clouds of smoke for use in detecting the flow of air currents. The system consists of a handheld instrument and a disposable ampoule containing smoke generating fluid. The ampoule fluid is a special mixture of alcohols developed at Dräger that when heated in the instrument, it condenses on contact with the ambient air creating a harmless, environmentally safe cloud of smoke.
The flow check is compact and easy to use. Small, single clouds of smoke can be generated with a short press of a button. Continuous production of smoke is possible by locking the button in the on position.
Contact:National Draeger, PO Box 120, Pittsburgh PA 15230 - 412-787-8383 - 866-905-9793
See Use of a Drager pump for a discussion of how Draeger equipment is used in the field. Also see Warnings re instruments for detection of gases.
Watch out: the Dräger "smoke tube" # CH16631 produces a sulfuric acid gas sulfuric acid H2SO4 /SO3 that is dangerous to life and is highly corrosive. Take a look at our copy of the Dräger MSDS for their CH25301 Air Current Tubes. We stored this MSDS in the box with the rubber bulb and tube cutter provided by Dräger. These air current monitoring tubes are provided with rubber caps so that the tube can be "stopped" or shut down when not in use. But the sulfuric acid was so corrosive that it not only caused the rubbger caps to disintegrate, it actually "burned" or oxidized our copy of the MSDS paper form! Dräger MSDS for Dräger CH25301 Air Current Tubes, Page 1 and Dräger MSDS for Dräger CH25301 Air Current Tubes, Page 2
Nextteq irritating smoke fit testing amd airflow or air current analysis kits use the Gastec Irritant Smoke Qualitative Fit Testing Kit No. 9501 discussed above. Nexteq, 877-312-2444 website: www.nextteq.com email: info@nextteq.com. Nextteq explains the use of irritating smoke for [respirator] fit testing as quick, easy to use, economical, and intrinsically safe and ready to use. "Irritating smoke is the only OSHA-accepted qualitative fit testing method that does not rely on the test subject's subjective response. Qualitative fit tests such as banana oil (isoamyl acetate), saccharin, or Bitrex may cause false negative results."
Watch out: some smoke tracing emitters produce highly toxic fumes (such as sulfuric acid H2SO4) that can injure lungs, eyes, skin, or even cause death if used at high concentrations in an enclosed space. Read all instructions and warnings before attempting to use this product.
Smoke cans: canned smoke: e.g. Smoke Check™ SAT-1, used to test smoke alarms, produced by HSI Fire & Safety Group, sold by home inspection tool suppliers & HVAC suppliers
Smoke guns: E. Vernon Hill, Inc., PO Box 14248, San Francisco CA 94114 - 415-665-6628
Because smoke guns and smoke equipment are widely used by and produced by people involved in both HVAC and indoor air quality work, companies providing those services or who sell equipment to those practitioners can supply smoke testing equipment in a variety of forms such as ultra-fine powder that is "puffed" into the air to detect air movement direction, chemical tubes that generate smoke when opened, and capsules used to generate smoke to test for leaks in furnace heat exchangers.
We (D Friedman) use smoke generating tubes and other gas sampling equipment provided by the two most reliable companies in the world, Draeger-Safety's detector-tubes and Drager accuro™ bellows pump, the Gastec™ cylinder pump and detector-tube system produced by Gastec or Sensidyne, and we also use Sensidyne's Gilian air pump. For broad screening for combustibles and a number of other toxic gases and for leak tracing we also use Amprobe's Tif8850. All of these instruments, their applications, and sensitivities (minimum detectable limits) for specific gases are described in our Gas Sampling Plan online document.
Smoke emitter bottles or candles: typically using titanium tetrachloride ampoules, operate for 24-hours per ampoule, corrosive irritating smoke (see our MSDS references below). E.g. Miniax™ 45-second, 150cuft. "non-toxic smoke emitter" (gets hot, place on a safe surface, can, or sand) and Fire System Services Smoke Emitter candles, matches, powders indlucing Miniax, Ventilax, Brandax, Datax, white smoke emitter candles discussed above, and coloured smoke emitters such as their AAX18, AX60, and Brandax KSO.
Our photo (left) shows a Regin Powder Puffer "smoke" No. S201 air current tester that uses finely-ground silica (CAS 112945-52-5). Instructions include
Shake well
Squeeze the center of the bottle with a quick firm motion
Not edible. Do not inhale. Keep out of reach of children. Use only as Directed.
Smoke matches: short burning, perhaps 20 seconds, low cost, can be a bit awkward. Suppliers: PH Gas Smatch, container of 75, in U.K., under £4. , Splintax (Regin HVAC Products & Fire System Services)
Smoke pens: an ignited wick burns 30 minutes, e.g. produced by BJÖRNAX AB. Quoting from the manufacturer: The Bjornax reusable Smoke Emitter Pen is the perfect tool to dispense just the right amount of test smoke, when and where it is needed. A patented smoke-emitting wick is inserted into the clutch pencil and ignited. You can adjust the wick to provide a continuous stream of a light gray to white smoke. The Smoke Pen can be easily extinguished by simply replacing the protective cover. Wick diameter is 5.6mm and will burn for approximately 30 minutes each. Also distributed by Fire System Services
Smoke powders: Ultra-fine powders and smoke-powder puffers: e.g. Micro-Powder Puffer, (pulverized silica and Calcium carbonate powder) from BJÖRNAX AB, & Powder-Puff Silica Smoke S201 from (company name chopped), Also distributed by Fire System Services. Smoke powders are typically emitted by squeezing a plastic bottle or using a rubber bulb attached to a specially-designed emitter-bottle.
HVAC equipment & test tool suppliers: check with your local heating, ventilation, and air conditioning contractor suppliers. Some of these are listed following the list of page links, below at References.
Home inspection equipment suppliers: check with any home inspection equipment supplier
These are smoke test equipment manufacturers.They can refer you to local distributors for smoke pencils or other smoke testing and air testing or air movement testing equipment.
At Basement Energy Losses- IR & Visual we show additional photographs of using a smoke generator tube (smoke pencil) to check building air flow and building air leaks at a basement wall.
At AIR LEAK DETECTION TOOLS we show using a smoke pencil to determine the direction of air flow (under a door) when evaluating return air supply adequacy for an air conditioning system
The question-and-answer article about buying smoke pencils to test for air movement in buildings, quotes-from, updates, and comments an original article, (see links just above) from Solar Age Magazine and written by Steven Bliss.
The importance of setting priorities for sealing these points of energy wasted is emphasized and discussed, and sketches as well as photographs of common points of building heat loss, or unwanted heat gain, and air leaks are provided in the following articles:
Readers should also see Attic Energy Losses - InfraRed, the previous section of the article series HEAT LOSS DETECTION TOOLS,This article explains how to survey a building for air and heat loss or gain points in basements and crawl spaces and how to correct them. Readers should also see our article focusing on BASEMENT HEAT LOSS.
Beyond simple caulking and weatherstripping, it is important to look at the whole building - moisture and moisture sources, air quality, heating and ventilation equipment, and HVAC controls - in order to determine what steps will be most cost-effective in saving energy for that particular building.
Here we include solar energy, solar heating, solar hot water, and related building energy efficiency improvement articles reprinted/adapted/excerpted with permission from Solar Age Magazine - editor Steven Bliss.
Smoke Gun & Smoke Pencil System Safety, Hazards, MSDS Sheets
Watch out: some smoking or fogging equipment uses highly irritating or even toxic gases or chemicals (tetrachloride acid or Titanium tetrachloride, or Hydrogen chloride HCL gas) that can cause eye or respiratory problems or may be poisonous if swallowed. Be sure that you use your smoke product only after having read (and followed) the manufacturer's directions.
See the example smoke pen, smoke pencil, and smoke emitter MSDS sheets below and see our full list at Smoke Generator Chemicals Powders MSDS. The MSDS sheets for these smoke candles, pens, powders, sticks, etc. include hazard warnings, intended usage, and the original manufacturer. Our original source links indicate suppliers who distribute these products in various countries.
Brandax VS smoke for airflow studies, leakage testing, original source: http://www.firesys.com.au/Bjornax%20brandax%20vs%20msd.pdf, producer BJÖRNAX AB
Datax "pure smoke" generator for airflow studies & leakage testing, original source:
http://www.firesys.com.au/Bjornax%20pure%20datax%20msd.pdf, producer BJÖRNAX AB
Dräger MSDS for Dräger CH25301 Air Current Tubes, Page 1 of 2. Dräger MSDS for Dräger CH25301 Air Current Tubes, Page 2 of 2. Watch out: the Dräger air current tube or "smoke tube" # CH16631 produces a sulfuric acid gas sulfuric acid H2SO4 /SO3 that is dangerous to life and is highly corrosive. Take a look at our copy of the Dräger MSDS for their CH25301 Air Current Tubes. We stored this MSDS in the box with the rubber bulb and tube cutter provided by Dräger. These air current monitoring tubes are provided with rubber caps so that the tube can be "stopped" or shut down when not in use. But the sulfuric acid was so corrosive that it not only caused the rubbger caps to disintegrate, it actually "burned" or oxidized our copy of the MSDS paper form!
FP-Smoke, powder smoke for airflow studies, leakage tests, BJÖRNAX AB,.
STRÅSSA FÖRETAGSBY, S-711 77 STRÅSSA SWEDEN, web search 08/31/2010, original source: http://www.bjornax.com/MSDS/MSDS_fp_smoke.pdf
Powder-Puff smoke powder (manufacturer ID TBD) silica powder puffer
Pure-AX:3 & Pure-AX:9 "pure smoke" generators for airflow studies, leakage tests, original source: http://www.firesys.com.au/Bjornax%20pure%20AX3%20AX9%20msd.pdf, producer BJÖRNAX AB
Regin HVAC Products, 203-323-0115, and Regin Products for Heating, Air Conditioning, & Special Effects, Regin HVAC Products, Inc.
315 Riggs Street, Unit 1
Oxford, CT 06478
USA, Tel: (203) 881-2600 or (800) 394-2739 [6]
Splintax Smoke Match, original source: http://www.firesys.com.au/Bjornax%20splintax%20msd.pdf, producer BJÖRNAX AB
Smoke Check: canned smoke for smoke detector testing, HSI Fire & Safety Group, web search 08/31/2010, original source: http://inspectusa.com/HSI/MSDS/MSDS_25s_smoke_check.pdf - see the warnings!
Smoke Powder - AX-Powder Smoke, original source: http://www.firesys.com.au/Bjornax%20ax%20smoke%20powder%20msd.pdf, producer BJÖRNAX AB
Smoke Pen MSDS: BJÖRNAX AB,.
STRÅSSA FÖRETAGSBY,
S-711 77 STRÅSSA SWEDEN, original source: http://www.bjornax.com/ ISO 14001 Certified with 30 minute burn time per wick.
Titanium tetrachloride smoke emitter bottles (manufacturer ID TBD), web search 08/31/2010, original source: http://inspectusa.com/smoke_candles/SmokeBottles-MSDS.pdf Note: this supplier appears to have cut off the page top of the MSDS that may contain manufacturer ID. Hydrogen chloride gas (HCL)
Titanium tetrachloride MSDS, Sciencelab.com, 14025 Smith Rd., Houston TX 77396, 800-901-7247, webseach 08/31/2010, original source: http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9925270
The link to the original Q&A article in PDF form immediately below is the original article that has since been replaced by an expanded/updated online version of this article (found above).
The question-and-answer article below paraphrases, quotes-from, updates, and comments an original article, (see links just above) from Solar Age Magazine and written by Steven Bliss.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about smoke guns, smoke pencils, smoke pens and similar test equipment used to check HVAC systems, heat exchangers, and building air leaks or air movement
Question: The Regin Smoke Pen for home use
Do you have information on the Regin Smoke Pen S220? This is for home use. -
Thanks. K.N.
Reply:
Sure K. The Regin smoke pen is produced by BJORNAX AB in Sweden and is intended for use in tracing air movement such as in HVAC systems or, used with some expertise, possibly in tracing air leaks in buildings. The pen incorporates a stearic acid wick that is lit by a match or cigarette lighter and extinguished by replacing the pen cap.
We haven't tested the product but from Regin's product literature and photographs it seems that the trace smoke emitted by the pen is suitable for checking direction of air movement such as we discuss in these InspectAPedia articles and useful for checking for air leaks at HVAC systems as well as checking the direction of air flow at building openings, cracks or leaks.
No smoke emitting device is intended to provide a wide-area general building survey for heat loss. For that you'd need to look at IR and similar approaches (HOUSE DOCTOR, how-to be) using thermography and at blower door tests (BLOWER DOORS & AIR INFILTRATION). Also see THERMAL TRACKING & HEAT LOSS for a guide to visual clues that point to air movement in buildings.
Here is what Regin says about this recently-released test device:
The Smoke-Pen ($39. U.S.D.) works
like a mechanical pencil. A patented smoke-emitting wick is inserted into the convenient
to use pen, adjust the wick to provide 3/8” of exposed wick, light the wick with a match or lighter.
The smoke pen will provide a continuous trail of smoke.
The Smoke-Pen can be easily extinguished by simply replacing the
protective cover. The Smoke-Pen can now be stored and re-used for the next test.
The smoke and the wick itself are non-toxic, with no shipping regulations. This cool burning,
non-toxic emitter is ideal for air balancing, verifying ventilations, testing smoke alarms, test for
negative or positive air pressure. [6]
Like other responsible manufacturers of test equipment, Regan, thorugh their website, provide an MSDS sheet for the smoke pen explaining that the active ingredient is stearic acid. The product is described by Regan as non-toxic. The MSDS warns of eye and inhalation exposures: "Prolonged exposure or misuse can cause irritation."
The Smoke Pen™ by Regan also includes safety advice that in our OPINION was written by lawyers but that is unlikely to describe a problem encountered by most users:
At improper ventilation use a particle filter mask class P2.
All kinds of generated smoke consists of solid or liquid particles, why it is recommended to use a
particle mask at longer participation in smoke filled rooms. [6] [7]
Questions & Answers regarding this article
Questions & answers about choosing, buying, & using smoke pens, smoke pencils and related HVAC and building air movement test tools.
Critique, contributions wanted: Contact Us to suggest corrections or additions to articles at this website, and if you wish, to receive online listing and credit as a contributor. Particular thanks are due to the many experts and also consumers who read and critique technical articles at InspectAPedia.com.
Additional technical contributors & reference sources for this article are listed below.
Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.
Solar Age Magazine was the official publication of the American Solar Energy Society. The contemporary solar energy magazine associated with the Society is Solar Today. "Established in 1954, the nonprofit American Solar Energy Society (ASES) is the nation's leading association of solar professionals & advocates. Our mission is to inspire an era of energy innovation and speed the transition to a sustainable energy economy. We advance education, research and policy. Leading for more than 50 years.
ASES leads national efforts to increase the use of solar energy, energy efficiency and other sustainable technologies in the U.S. We publish the award-winning SOLAR TODAY magazine, organize and present the ASES National Solar Conference and lead the ASES National Solar Tour – the largest grassroots solar event in the world."
Steven Bliss served as editorial director and co-publisher of The Journal of Light Construction for 16 years and previously as building technology editor for Progressive Builder and Solar Age magazines. He worked in the building trades as a carpenter and design/build contractor for more than ten years and holds a masters degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Excerpts from his recent book, Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction, Wiley (November 18, 2005) ISBN-10: 0471648361, ISBN-13: 978-0471648369, appear throughout this website, with permission and courtesy of Wiley & Sons. Best Practices Guide is available from the publisher, J. Wiley & Sons, and also at Amazon.com.
Excerpts with updates and annotations expanding the original Best Practices Guide text can be found in the online review and book summary at BEST CONSTRUCTION PRACTICES GUIDE and also at DECK & PORCH CONSTRUCTION, at INDOOR AIR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT GUIDE, and in other articles found at InspectAPedia.com such as HOUSEWRAP AIR & VAPOR BARRIERS, SOUND CONTROL in buildings, and other topics.
GASES, EXPOSURE, TESTING Toxic Gas Exposure Hazards and Test Protocols including links to our toxic gas exposure screening and gas testing protocols.
Ice Dam Leaks in building attics and roof cavities, how to inspect for evidence of leaks, identify causes, and correct bad attic ventilation, improper roof venting, and these causes of attic mold or roof structure damage
Maintenance of Fire Protection Systems and Equipment, the New Australian Standard, What does it Mean for Owners, Occupiers, and Servivce Providers, White Paper, Australian Standard AS1851:2005, original source: http://www.firesys.com.au/AS1851WhitePaper.pdf, Fire Protection Association, Australia, Steven Kip, Warrington Fire Research
National Draeger, PO Box 120, Pittsburgh PA 15230 - 412-787-8383, - 866-905-9793
Website: http://www.buydraegersafety.com/
Nextteq LLC., 8406 Benjamin Rd. Suite J.,, Tampa FL 33634 USA, 877-312-2333, 877-312-2444 website: www.nextteq.com email: info@nextteq.com.
Nextteq MSDS for the Nextteq Irritant Smoke Tube Kit (using Gastec Irritant Smoke Tubes P/N 9500), using Stannic Chloride (CAS No. 7646-78-8, UN No. 1827), air flow indicator tube, irritatant smoke generator
Fire System Services, Unit 1, 16 Glasgow Street, Wingfield, South Australia 5013, Mail to: P.O. Box 16, Prospect SA 5082, Tel: +61 8 8445 6300, Website: http://www.firesys.com.au/, Fire System Services distributes a wide range of smoke emitters used for monitoring air movement patterns or testing smoke detectors (and other fire protection or fire extinguisher related equipment) including the Miniax, Ventilax, Brandax, Datax, white smoke emitter candles discussed above, and coloured smoke emitters such as their AAX18, AX60, and Brandax KSO.
The Chimney Balloon LLC, 2123 N Pontiac Drive, Janesville, WI 53545, Tel: (608) 467-0229 M-F 9am - 5:00pm (CST), distributes smoke pencils at www.smokepencil.com
[6] Regin Products for Heating, Air Conditioning, & Special Effects, Regin HVAC Products, Inc.
315 Riggs Street, Unit 1
Oxford, CT 06478
USA, Tel: (203) 881-2600 or (800) 394-2739, web search 11/30/2011, original source: http://www.regin.com Comment from the company's website: REGIN HVAC Products are exclusive distributor of smoke cartridges manufactured by
company BJORNAX AB in Sweden, one of the worlds largest manufacturer of smoke products for
technical purposes, and with the increasing emphasis on environmental and safety issues,
their products are finding an ever-widening range of applications such as:
Leak testing of duct-work, pipelines, heat-exchanges, tanks etc.
Study make up and exhaust air systems, smoke stacks, chimneys etc.
Air balancing from grills, draft in fume hoods, negative air pressure testing, equipment testing,
HEPA filter testing, smoke alarms, fire drills, film and photography and much more.
[7] MSDS Sheet for the Regan Smoke Pen™, web search 11/30/11, original source: http://www.regin.com/MSDS/MSDSSmokePen.pdf (also available fdrom InspectAPedia.com by request)
Sampling for gases in air such as VOC's, MVOC's, toxic chemicals, and combustion products.
Unfortunately no single test or tool can detect all possible building contaminants. We use methods and equipment which can test for common contaminants. If the identity of a specific contaminant is known in advance we can also test for a very large number of specific contaminant gases in buildings.
We use gas sampling equipment provided by the two most reliable companies in the world, Draeger-Safety's detector-tubes and Drager accuro� bellows pump, the Gastec� cylinder pump and detector-tube system produced by Gastec or Sensidyne, and
we also use Sensidyne's Gilian air pump. For broad screening for combustibles and a number of other
toxic gases and for leak tracing we also use Amprobe's Tif8850. All of these instruments, their applications, and sensitivities (minimum detectable limits) for specific
gases are described in our Gas Sampling Plan online document.
Zefon Corporation, 1-800-282-0073, website: http://www.zefon.com, distributes a wide range of gas testing equipment including Gastec detctector tubes.
Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair
Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore. Also see our Book Reviews - InspectAPedia.
Air Pollution Toxicology: APTI Course SI:300, Introduction to Air Pollution Toxicology, US EPA Air Pollution Training Institute, Environmental Research Center, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, Sept. 1993, web search 08/28/2010, original source: http://yosemite.epa.gov/
A Toxic Gas Testing Plan: A Gas Sampling Plan for Residential and Commercial buildings lists some of the toxic indoor gases for which we test, depending on the building complaint and building conditions
CCSP, 2008: Analyses of the effects of global change on human health and welfare and human systems. A Report by the U.S.
Climate Change Science Program and the Subcommittee on Global Change Research. [Gamble, J.L. (ed.), K.L. Ebi, F.G. Sussman,
T.J. Wilbanks, (Authors)]. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, USA. Web search 08/28/2010, original source: http://nepis.epa.gov/
Gas Exposure Hazard Levels: for Toxic Gas Exposure to Ammonia, Arsine, Arsenic, Bromine, Carbon Dioxide, Carbon Monoxide, Hydride, Ozone - allowable exposure levels and hazard levels
Health Effects of Carbon Dioxide - see "National Advisory Committee for Acute Exposure Guideline Levels (AEGLs) for Hazardous Substances; Proposed AEGL Values, Federal Register Document", http://www.epa.gov/EPA-TOX/2002/February/Day-15/t3774.htm note that these are proposed guidelines
Carbon Dioxide CO2: Geologic Sequestration Health Effects: "Vulnerability Evaluation Framework for Geologic Sequestration of Carbon Dioxide [on file as /hazmat/CO2_EPA_VEF-Tech_Doc_072408.pdf ] - ", US EPA, EPA430-R-08-009, July 2008, web search August 2010,original source: http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/downloads/VEF-Technical_Document_072408.pdf
GTSP, 2006: Carbon Dioxide Capture and Geologic Storage: A Core Element of a A Global
Energy Technology Strategy to Address Climate Change (PDF, 37 pp., 6.05 MB, About PDF).
April 2006, JJ Dooley et al. Global Energy Technology Strategy Program (GSTP)
IPCC, 2005: Special Report on Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage, Special Report of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Metz, Bert, Davidson, Ogunlade,
de Coninck, Heleen, Loos, Manuela, and Meyer, Leo (Eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, The
Edinburgh Building Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge CB2 2RU England
Fluorine, Its Compounds, and Air Pollution,: a Bibliography with Abstracts, US Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711, December 1976. Web search 08/28/2010, original source: http://nepis.epa.gov.
NOTE: because the EPA's original source of this document in PDF format is damaged we have created a text image file, converted to a new PDF for readability.
Formaldehyde: US EPA. UFFI (Urea Formaldehyde Foam Insulation) was previously considered a hazard (formaldehyde outgassing). Subsequent research virtually closed concern regarding this material; however formaldehyde appears to remain a health concern for sensitive individuals.
Nitrogen Oxides: Air Quality Criteria for Oxides of Nitrogen, Vol III of III, US EPA, EPA600/8-91/049cF, August 1993, web search 08/28/2010, original source: http://nepis.epa.gov [Large PDF 25MB] Key chapters in this document evaluate the latest scientific data on (a) health effects of NOx measured ill laboratory animals and exposed human populatIOns and (b) effects of NOx on agricultural crops, forests, and ecosystems, as well as (c) NOx effects on visibility and nonbiological materials. Other chapters describe the nature, sources, distribution, measurement, and concentratiOns of NOx m the environment These chapters were prepared and peer reviwed by experts from various state and Federal government offices, academia, and private industry for use by EPA to support decision makIng regarding potentIal risks to public health and the enVIronment Although the document IS not intended to be an exhaustIve literature reVIew, It IS intended to cover all the pertinent literature through early 1993
Ozone Warnings - Use of Ozone as a "mold" remedy is ineffective and may be dangerous.
Sampling for gases in air such as VOC's, MVOC's, toxic chemicals, and combustion products.
Unfortunately no single test or tool can detect all possible building contaminants. We use methods and equipment which can test for common contaminants. If the identity of a specific contaminant is known in advance we can also test for a very large number of specific contaminant gases in buildings.
We use gas sampling equipment provided by the two most reliable companies in the world, Draeger-Safety's detector-tubes and Drager accuro� bellows pump, the Gastec� cylinder pump and detector-tube system produced by Gastec or Sensidyne, and
we also use Sensidyne's Gilian air pump. For broad screening for combustibles and a number of other
toxic gases and for leak tracing we also use Amprobe's Tif8850. All of these instruments, their applications, and sensitivities (minimum detectable limits) for specific gases are described in our Gas Sampling Plan online document.
Radon Gas U.S. EPA Radon level maps, web search 2005, original source: http://www.epa.gov/iaq/radon/zonemap/zmapp33.htm
"Table Z-1 Limits for Air Contaminants, 1910.1000 Table Z-1" OSHA standard for air contaminant limits (http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=9992) - includes for CO2, Carbon dioxide.........| CAS No. 124-38-9 | 5000 ppm | 9000 mg/m3 limits for carbon dioxide as an air contaminant.
GASES, EXPOSURE, TESTING Toxic Gas Exposure Hazards and Test Protocols including links
to our toxic gas exposure screening and gas testing protocols.
Mobile View
Use of Ozone as a "mold" remedy is ineffective and may be dangerous.