As a contractor (environmental process control), HMVT often uses head space measurements in soil remediation in order to quickly and at low costs get an indication of the soil contamination. After the filters have been placed for the in-situ soil remediation, all the filters are tested using head space measurements. This is an indicative measurement whereby a standard bottle is half filled and shaken vigorously.
A PID meter is used to measure the concentration of the contamination in the air above the contaminated water. These measurements are then recorded. For volatile contaminants this gives a good indication of the concentration of the contamination in the groundwater.
This allows the following to be carried out
- The relevant samples are selected for lab analysis
- The in-situ soil remediation is optimise
This technique can be used for volatile contaminants such as:
- VOCl / Solvents (Per, Tri, Cis, VC, Chloroethanes)
- Aromatics (BTEX)
- Naphthalene
Advantages
- Quick. You know the results immediately whilst in the field
- Cheap
- Good indication of the presence of volatile contaminants
- Quick and easy optimisation of in-situ soil remediation
- Better selection of samples possible, thereby optimising the costs for (expensive) lab research
This remains, however, an indication and so is no replacement for Sterlab / AS3000 samples.
