Beacon Presentation EPA NARPM Annual Training

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High Resolution Site Characterization and Indoor Air Sampling Techniques for

VOCs/SVOCs

Presented by:Harry O’Neill

PresidentBeacon Environmental Services, Inc.

30 November 2012

National Association of Remedial Project Managers Annual Training Program

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Road Map

• Beacon Environmental: Background, Experience, and Certifications

• Sorbent samplers

• Passive Soil Gas (PSG) Surveys – High Resolution Site Characterization

• PSG Survey Case Study – DoD Facility

• Sorbent samplers to measure VOC concentrations

• Passive Diffusion Samplers Case Study – 14 Day Sampling Period at

DoD Facility

• Conclusions

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Experience -- The Company and the People

• Beacon Environmental uses sorbent-based techniques to identify VOCs and SVOCs in soil vapor and indoor/ambient air

• Beacon provides easy-to-use test kits for clients to collect samples

• Analyses of the samples are performed at Beacon’s laboratory, which is DoD ELAP and ISO 17025 accredited for the analysis of soil gas and air samples

• Beacon’s staff has managed soil gas investigations for more than 20 years working on DOD and DOE federal facilities within the USA and internationally, as well as on federal superfund sites.

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Laboratory Accreditation

Accredited Analytical Methods:

U.S. EPA Methods 8260C, TO-17, and TO-15

Beacon’s Quality System ensures consistent and reliable results

Beacon is a specialized laboratory focused on providing highly accurate soil gas and air data

Accredited in accordance with:U.S. DoD Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (ELAP)

ISO/IEC 17025:2005

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Only EPA Method TO-17 DoD ELAP Accredited Lab

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Only EPA Method 8260C DoD ELAP Accredited Lab -- Air

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Field Sampling Accreditation

Accredited for the collection of soil gas and air samples.

Passive and Active sampling methods.

*First and only company in the nation to receive NEFAP accreditation.*

Beacon provides our services through easy to use field kits, but also has trained personnel to collect soil gas or air samples

Accredited in accordance with:TNI National Environmental Field Activities Program (NEFAP ) Accredited

for Environmental Field Sampling (Air and Emissions)

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Sorbent Samplers – Passive and Active

Sorbent samplers can target VOCs and SVOCs

Used for soil gas, indoor air, and ambient air applications

Compact and easy-to-use

Able to achieve very low detection limits

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High Resolution Site Characterization – PSG Surveys

High Resolution Site Characterization (HRSC)

Passive soil gas surveys allow for the use of best management practices (BMP) to

better characterize site

PSG is a tool that collects “effective data” –data that meets the project objectives

and is cost-effective1

(1) Crumbling, D.M., C. Groenjes, B. Lesnik, K. Lynch, J. Shockley, J. van Ee, R.A. Howe, L.H. Keith, and J. McKenna. 2001. Managing Uncertainty in Environmental Decisions: Applying the Concept of Effective Data at Contaminated Sites Could Reduce Costs and Improve Cleanups. Environmental Science & Technology 35:9, pp. 404A-409A

High Quality Screening Data = Effective Data

BEACON PSG Sampler

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What is high resolution?

Sampling Grid with 90 Foot Spacing

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High Resolution – Now you got the picture

HRSC Sampling Grid with 30 Foot Spacing

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BEACON PSG Sampler

ASTM Standards D5314 and D7758 Compliant

The sorbents need to be hydrophobic and the housing of the PSG Samplers should not contain sorptive materials (e.g., PDMS or other membranes) that may compete with the

sorbents and bias results

Two types of adsorbents to target a broad

range of compounds

Two pairs for duplicate or confirmatory

analysis

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Passive Soil Gas Sample Collection Kit

Passive Soil Gas Technologies are typically provided through sample collection kits and

only require hand tools for sample collection.

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Sampling Options

Subsurface:Samplers installed in

holes as shallow as 10 cm

Typically installed in 3 cm diam. holes advanced to

30 cm to 1 m depth

Surface Placed:Static Flux Chambers

Completely non-intrusive

Sites with UXO or CWA concerns

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Sustainable Technology

IN THE FIELDNo waste from soil cuttings are generated when sampling.

Only hand tools required to collect samples -- no DPT or drill rigs.In-situ sample collection onto adsorbents that are reused, no waste.

IN THE LABSamples analyzed using thermal desorption-gas chromatography/

mass spectrometry (TD-GC/MS) instrumentation.No solvents are used for sample extraction.

Green CharacterizationTM

A green site investigation relies on information gained from a thorough preliminary assessment that identifies target areas and

site conditions through minimally intrusive techniques. -- USEPA OSWER Dec. 2009

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Benefits of HRSC

High Density, Low Cost Low Density, High Cost

High Resolution Site Characterization (HRSC)

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Routine Targets

Halogenated compounds• PCE • TCE • DCEs • Vinyl chloride• TCA • Carbon tetrachloride• Chloroform• Freons• Chlorobenzene• Dichlorobenzenes• Trichlorobenzenes

Complex mixtures• Stoddard solvent• Paint thinners

Petroleum Blends• Gasoline • Fuel oil• Diesel• Jet Fuel

BTEX, MTBE and PAHs• Naphthalene• 2-Methylnaphthalene

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Additional Targets

Heavier PAHs

• Acenaphthalene, Fluorene, Pyrene

Ketones

Alcohols

Explosives

• Nitrotoluenes, Dinitrotoluenes, Nitrobenzenes

Pesticides

Chemical Warfare Agent (CWA) and Breakdown Products

• Mustard, GB, VX, 1,4-Thioxane, 1,4-Dithiane, Thiodiglycol

Mercury (Hg)

Total Nitrotoluenes & DNTs

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HRSC Case Study: Source Area Identification

Objectives:Identify sources of contamination in gw

Challenges:Legacy contamination remains from undocumented activities

Heavily wooded area

Area receives significant rainfall

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Sampling Plan:Basic grid with 10 meter spacing, as well as 20 and 40 m spacing in areas of less concern

Focused in area where operations were previously conducted at the site

Soils: Silty, sands with clay lenses

GW: Not known, but ~4 m

64 Passive Soil Gas Sample Locations

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PSG Survey Findings:

Chlorinated compounds were present at significant measurements on eastern side of site

Results for Trichloroethene (TCE)

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Findings:

Results for Tetrachloroethene(PCE)

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Results for 1,1,2,2-Tetrachloroethane (R-130)

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Results for Total VOCs

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Soil Sampling:Soil samples were collected at locations reporting highest measurements in the PSG survey, as well as at contaminant boundary areas and areas reporting non-detects.

Contamination was expected to be found closer to where site activities occurred.

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Soil Sampling Results:

Samples collected at 1 to 1.5 m depth at multiple intervals of soil column using Terra Core sampler

Strategy was to sample at “hot spots” and confirm the non-detects from the passive soil gas survey

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PSG and Soil Results:Soil samples confirmed the results of the PSG survey and identified a significant source area.

An additional source area is expected to be present where the second highest soil sample was collected. The next phase includes collecting additional samples to identify the exact location of this more discrete release.

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PSG and Soil Results:Soil sampling alone likely would not have identified source areas, as evident at location reporting low soil concentrations.

The PSG survey just as importantly indicated where no additional sampling is required as was confirmed with the soil sampling.

Two GW wells are being installed at “hot spots.”

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Reported Data in Units of Mass… Not Concentration

PSG data should not be reported in units of conc.Reliable relative values in mass between sample

locations are important

All soil gas guidance documents clearly state data not to be used for determining concentration

No agencies or regulators accepting PSG data converted to concentration, but Beacon can provide “rule of thumb” estimates based on empirical data

However, reporting data in units of mass (ng or ug) meets project objectives to characterize sites and guide where to collect a limited number of soil, gw, or active soil gas samples

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EPA Method TO-17 Provides Concentration Data

PDS

No pumps

required

Method TO-17

Uses low-flow pumps

Tubes: Method TO-17 with pumpPassive Diffusion Samplers

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EPA Method TO-15 – Summa Canisters

In two Method TO-15 interlaboratory comparisons administered by ERA the acceptance range for PCE results were:−33% to 168% (July -Sept 2009 study)−56% to 131% (October – November 2007 study)

In a 2007 TO-14/TO-15 study conducted by Scott Specialty Gasses the reported values for toluene reported by 12 labs varied from 51%-290%

Source: Short-term Variability, Radon Tracer, and Longterm Passive Sampler Performance in the FieldPresented at AEHS 2012 by Christopher Lutes, Brian Cosky, Robert Uppencamp, and Lilian Abreu (ARCADIS)Brian Schumacher and John Zimmerman (US EPA National Exposure Research Laboratory), Robert Truesdale and Shu-yiLin (RTI International), Heidi Hayes (Air Toxics Ltd.), Blayne Hartman (Hartman Environmental Geosciences)

No technique is perfect, but something to consider:

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Active Soil Gas Sampling – EPA Method TO-17

Syringe and Sorbent Tube Sampling Pump and Sorbent Tube

Pictures courtesy of AMS, Inc.

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Indoor Air Sampling with Sorbents – Active and Passive

Calculate concentration:

ug/m3 = mass/(flow rate x time)

mass = nanogramsflow rate = ml/min

time = minutes(e.g., 1000 x ng/ml = ng/L = ug/m3)

Calculate concentration:

ug/m3 = mass/(uptake rate x time)

mass = nanogramsuptake rate = ml/min

time = minutes(e.g., 1000 x ng/ml = ug/m3)

Active Sampling Passive Sampling

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Passive Sampling – 14 day Sampling Periods

Vapor Intrusion Study – June 2012Industrial Building –Naval Facility

Building is slab on grade and total area is approximately 56,700 ft2

Sampled in office spaces and kitchen with 8-ft ceilings, as well as outside

Prior subslab soil vapor samples recorded PCE and TCE ranging from 200 to 120,000 ug/m3

24-Hour Summa canister samples were compared to samples collected with passive sorbent tubes over a 14-day period

Project Management: CH2M Hill

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Two Sorbent Tubes at each location

Summa canister

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Comparison Data

Note: No established uptake rates for cis- and trans-1,2-DCEBeacon used uptake rates that were approximated from the rates for similar compounds with the sorbent usedUptake rate studies for 1,2-DCE compounds are needed

Sample Location

CompoundTO‐17 (14 day)

TO‐15 TO‐17 (14 day)

TO‐15 TO‐17 (14 day)

TO‐15 TO‐17 (14 day)

TO‐15 TO‐17 (14 day)

TO‐15

Tetrachloroethene 3.4 3.4 3.6 3.6 0.45 J 0.43 J 0.82 J 0.73 J 0.11 U 0.62 UTrichloroethene 1.3 1.2 1.8 1.3 0.11 U 0.46 U 16 13 0.11 U 0.49 U1,1,1‐Trichloroethane 0.12 U 0.46 U 0.12 U 0.47 U 0.12 U 0.46 U 0.12 U 0.43 U 0.12 U 0.50 Ucis‐1,2‐Dichloroethene 2.3 4.8 3.9 5.1 0.40 U 0.19 J 0.59 J 1.1 0.40 U 0.36 Utrans‐1,2‐Dichloroethene 1.5 3.8 2.8 3.9 0.40 U 0.26 J 0.40 U 0.94 0.40 U 0.36 U1,1‐Dichlorothene 0.40 U 0.33 U 0.40 U 0.34 U 0.40 U 0.34 U 0.40 U 0.31 U 0.40 U 0.36 UVinyl Chloride 0.32 U 0.21 U 0.32 U 0.22 U 0.32 U 0.22 U 0.32 U 0.20 U 0.32 U 0.23 U

Samples collected in June 2012Units in micrograms/cubic meter (ug/m3)

Indoor #1 Indoor #2 Indoor #3 Indoor #4 Outdoor #1

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Comparison Data

Strong correlation between passive diffusion sorbent tubes and summa canister data for the two primary compounds of concern (PCE and TCE) considering different sampling durations and sampling methods.

Both compounds have established uptake rates for the sorbent tubes used

ISO 16017-2: Indoor, ambient and workplace air -- Sampling and analysis of volatile organic compounds by sorbent tube/thermal desorption/capillary gas chromatography -- Part 2: Diffusive sampling

Sample Location

CompoundTO‐17 (14 day)

TO‐15 RPD TO‐17 (14 day)



TO‐15 RPD

Tetrachloroethene 3.4 3.4 0% 3.6 3.6 0% 0.45 J 0.43 J 5% 0.82 J 0.73 J 12%Trichloroethene 1.3 1.2 8% 1.8 1.3 32% 0.11 U 0.46 U NA 16 13 21%

Samples collected in June 2012Units in micrograms/cubic meter (ug/m3)

Indoor #1 Indoor #2 Indoor #3 Indoor #4

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Conclusions

• Sorbent technologies can be used to target a broad range of VOCs and SVOCs employing easy-to-use techniques for time integrated measurements

• Passive soil gas methods allow for the rapid collection of data to produce high resolution data sets to collect “effective data”

• High resolution site characterization allows you to better delineate contamination and refine the conceptual site model (CSM)

• PSG surveys allow you to reduce the number of required soil, soil gas, and groundwater samples, which reduces the overall project costs.

• Based on the described study and other prior sampling, passive diffusion samplers allow you to sample over several days or weeks to measure organic compounds in indoor and ambient air providing a sample that may be more representative of average concentrations

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Any Questions?

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Thank you

Please contact us if you have any questions, to discuss project applications, or schedule training at your regional office:

Beacon Environmental Services, Inc.Harry O’Neill

Bel Air, MD USA1-410-838-8780

[email protected]

Thank you!

Beacon Presentation EPA NARPM Annual Training

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