Use of Vacutainers for Collection of Mine Atmosphere Samples

As part of a continuing effort to reduce the weight and bulk of equipment that mining personnel must carry underground, the Bureau of Mines and the Mining Enforcement and Safety Administration (MESA) investigated accurate and convenient gas samplers for use by mine inspectors in sampling mine atmospheres. The samplers are septum- stoppered glass vials commonly used for routine blood sampling. These lightweight, compact samplers yeild results comparable with those obtained with conventional bottle samplers of 250-ml nominal capacity.