Site Characterization and Analysis Penetrometer System (SCAPS) Heavy Metal Sensors
Abstract
The contamination at a hazardous waste site must first be delineated before clean up of the site can begin. Site characterization can be very costly, accounting for a third or more of the total cleanup cost. Until recently, the most common method in determining the extent of subsurface cleanup was to collect samples from either soil borings or monitoring wells, then sending them to a laboratory for analysis. This approach is inefficient and expensive. The Site Characterization and Analysis Penetrometer System (SCAPS) was developed to address requirements for improved subsurface measurement of contaminants. SCAPS combines traditional cone penetrometer technology with real-time direct push chemical sensors to rapidly delineate the subsurface distribution of contaminants and hydrogeological conditions. In order to broaden the applicability of SCAPS, the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) funded the development of several real-time in situ sensor technologies for screening of heavy metal contamination in soils. This technology demonstration report documents the performance and cost evaluation of three direct push metal sensor technologies conducted as part of a series of comprehensive side-by-side, field and laboratory evaluations supported by the Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP). The technologies include two sensor systems based on Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) and one system based on X-Ray fluorescence (XRF). Field evaluations were conducted at four different sites selected to reflect varying hydrogeological conditions, metal contaminants, and modes of introduction of the metal contaminant into the environment (e.g., dissolved vs. particulate).
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 2003
- Accession Number
- ADA607425
Entities
People
- George Robitaille
- Javier Cortés
- John H. Ballard
- Pamela A. Boss
- Stephen Lieberman
- W. T. Elam
Organizations
- Naval Information Warfare Systems Command