Abstract: Method and apparatus to contain dangerous gases venting or leaking from a primary containment vessel. An outer containment vessel holds the primary containment vessel in fluid tight relationship to the outer vessel. The outer vessel has an internal volume large enough to contain the entire contents of the inner vessel and includes means to absorb or scrub gas leaking from the inner vessel. Removal of gas from the inner vessel to a point of use is controlled by valves and conduits contained in the outer vessel, the valves being controlled from outside the vessels.

Abstract: A method for profiling the chemical structure and elemental composition as a function of distance below the exterior surface of a thermoplastic article, and more particularly, to a method for determining the depth of permeation of a modifier into the interior of a thermoplastic article which has been treated with the modifier. The method utilizes a pulsed ultraviolet energy source having a fluence level and pulse duration sufficient to ablate material from the article's exterior surface to a series of successive predetermined distances below the exterior surface to expose successive interior surfaces while causing essentially no physical or chemical damage to each respecting interior surface exposed by ablation. The elemental and chemical compositions of each successive interior surface are analyzed by a surface sensitive spectrographic technique and the spectrographic results are compared to determine the depth of modifier permeation within the thermoplastic article.