Application of Advanced Sensor Technology to DoD Soil Vapor Intrusion Problems

Abstract

Vapor intrusion (VI) of groundwater contaminants like trichloroethylene (TCE) has become an issue of increasing concern over the past decade necessitating development of methods to appropriately evaluate it. Determination of TCE concentrations in indoor air can be a crucial part of VI assessments. The conventional and most commonly used U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Toxic Organics-15 (TO-15) (gas chromatography/mass spectrometry [GC/MS]) method is limited primarily by protracted turnaround times, multiple house visits, and per-sample cost. Near-real-time on-site analysis can address these concerns and identify potential interfering indoor sources as well. A commercially available portable GC/MS provides a near-real time analysis, but has high capital costs, requires external carrier gas, and can have significant instrument downtime for costly maintenance. The overall project objective was to evaluate the efficacy of a micro-gas chromatograph ( GC) prototype for detection of low-level TCE concentrations in indoor-air VI applications as a potential cost-effective alternative.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 01, 2012
Accession Number
ADA582252

Entities

Organizations

  • Environmental Security Technology Certification Program

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Human Systems
  • Sensors

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accuracy
  • Chemistry
  • Cost Estimates
  • Department Of Defense
  • Detection
  • Detectors
  • Environment
  • Environmental Pollutants
  • Environmental Protection
  • Gas Chromatography
  • Groundwater
  • Mass Spectrometry
  • Metallic Nanoparticles
  • Pattern Recognition
  • Public Health
  • Standards
  • Volatile Organic Compounds

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Environmental Remediation and Restoration.
  • Life Cycle Cost Analysis
  • Systems Analysis and Design