Benzene Sensor

Benzene (C6H6) is an anthropogenic chemical associated with a range of acute and long-term adverse health effects and diseases, including cancer and aplastic anemia. Exposure to benzene can occur occupationally and domestically, as a consequence of using petroleum products, active/passive smoking, industrial leakage, and forest fires. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines the maximum contaminant level (MCL) for benzene in an aqueous environment to be 5ppb; the short-term exposure limit for 15 minutes is 5ppm and the maximum exposure standard for 8 hours is 1ppm.

Because of its strong effects on human health, sensors are needed to detect trace quantities of benzene yet no such product exists in the market, particularly one with suitable detection limit, reasonable detection bandwidth, and portability. I work with Dr. Ritobrata Sur under supervision of Prof. Ronald K. Hanson and Prof. Robert B. Jackson for a GPS-enabled benzene-specific sensor that is both in-situ and field-deployable.