text: Applications of thermal desorption were originally restricted to occupational health monitoring, but have since extended to cover a much wider range. Some of the most important are mentioned below – where available, examples of early reports, and more recent citations (including those of widely used standard methods) have been given:
  *Outdoor environmental monitoring
  *Workplace/occupational health monitoring
  *Residual volatiles emitted from products and materials
  *Studies of biological systems, including plant–herbivore interactions
  *Breath analysis for disease diagnosis
  *Aroma profiling of food and drink
  *Defence/homeland security (detection of chemical agents)