An apparatus for detecting chemical substances which is high in
sensitivity and selectivity is provided.An organic acid or an organic
acid salt is used to generate an organic acid gas from an organic acid
gas generator 3 to be mixed with a sample gas for introduction into an
ion source 4 for ionization, thereby obtaining a mass spectrum by a mass
analysis region 5. A data processor 6 determines the detection or
non-detection of a specific m/z of an organic acid adduct ion obtained by
adding a molecule generated from the organic acid to a molecule with
specific m/z generated from a target chemical substance to be detected
based on the obtained mass spectrum. When there is an ion peak with the
m/z of the organic acid adduct ion, the presence of the target chemical
substance to be detected is determined, and an alarm is sounded.False
detection can be prevented.