Milestone’s first direct mercury analyzer, the AMA-254, was introduced in the early 1990’s.  Continual product development resulted in many changes, including an integrated, matrix-independent autosampler, and better pneumatics. Performance has also been improved, giving lower detection limits, making the current model DMA-80 the most popular direct mercury analyzer on the market. 

One of the early users of the technology was a group at Duquesne University under the direction of Dr. H.M. ‘Skip’ Kingston. The work performed by Dr. Kingston’s group on the DMA-80 was instrumental in the development, and ultimate promulgation, of US EPA Method 7473. Milestone’s DMA-80 is the only direct mercury analyzer specifically referenced in US EPA Method 7473.

“The DMA 80 automatic mercury analyzer (Milestone, Inc.) is the instrument used for the scheme outlined above. It has been tested for use with this method” - (Extract from US EPA Method 7473 , Section 6.2)"

Today, the DMA-80 is used in over 800 laboratories throughout the world covering a diverse field of applications, including: toxicology (tissues, blood, hair, urine), environmental (soils, sludge, wastewaters), energy (coal, fly ash, fuels, hydrocarbons), chemical (polymers, waste characterization), quality control (food/feed, production), gases, and many more.