Testing for Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
A Mass
Spectrometer ("Mass Spec") allows the laboratory to distinguish
between toxaphene and other POPs. It costs about $90,000.
An Electron
Capture Detector ("ECD") costs about $35,000-$40,000 but doesn't give
as much information as a Mass Spec.
Processing samples in these machines takes about 2 hours per sample.