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Recent Development of Sensors to Detect Lead Contamination

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Recent Development of Sensors to Detect Lead Contamination
Artist’s impression of the chip surface, showing the area used to sense the presence of lead. Image by: Jia Xu Brian Sia. Source.

By Bhanu Sontela

MIT and Nanyang University engineers developed an affordable lead contamination sensor according to a MIT News article published in May 2024.

This device provides an alternative to traditional lead testing methods, often involving costly laboratory analysis and long wait times for results.

“There’s this problem that people don’t measure their water enough, especially in the developing countries," MIT PhD candidate Luigi Ranno said in the MIT News. “And that’s because they need to collect the water, prepare the sample, and bring it to these huge instruments that are extremely expensive.”

The device is designed to help people in developing and third world countries avoid lead poisoning.

“I’m hoping this will be quickly implemented, so we can benefit human society. This is a good example of a technology coming from a lab innovation where it may make a very tangible impact on society, which is of course very fulfilling,” John F. Elliott Professor of Materials Science and Engineering Juejun Hu said.

This sensor is distinct from existing market solutions regarding affordability and user-friendliness. This new sensor can also deliver on-site testing results. 

“This research has engineered a sensor capable of instantaneously detecting lead concentration in water. This can be utilized in real-time to monitor the lead pollution concentration in wastewater discharged from industries such as battery manufacturing and lead smelting, facilitating the establishment of industrial wastewater monitoring systems. I think the innovative aspects and developmental potential of this research are quite commendable," an associate professor of environmental science and engineering at China’s Hunan University, Hou Wang said. He was not associated with this work.

“This innovation could have a significant impact on public health,” Hu said.

The discovery could help many communities that do not have access to clean drinking water, whose toxicity affects 240 million people worldwide.