Announcements


Join us February 13th for a band on workshop at Ecosearch srl. See you soon🔹 Vi avevamo promesso delle novità, vi avevamo promesso che quest’anno tornavamo ad organizzare Workshop nella nostra azienda e così abbiamo fatto.🆕 Il 13 febbraio si terrà nella nostra sede un Workshop VaporPin. Nel nostro sito potete scaricare il programma e il modulo di adesione, qui di seguito il link ⬇️: https://www.ecosearch.info/workshop-su-vaporpinLa partecipazione è gratuita, dovete solo compilare il modulo di adesione e mettere su Google Maps “EcoSearch” per raggiungerci.Vi aspettiamo numerosi, non vediamo l’ora di accogliervi nella nostra azienda!!Vapor Pin#VaporIntrusion #Remediation #SitiContaminati ... See MoreSee Less
NEW - Tygon Connectors!The Vapor Pin® Kit is designed to make your use of our products a success each time. However, one item was previously not included - the connector to match the barb fitting to the sample train. From this point forward, our kits will include Tygon connectors to bridge the distance between your sampling train and the Vapor Pin® Sampling Device. You may also purchase a bag of Tygon connectors separately or in 5 foot lengths.https://www.vaporpin.com/product/tygon-connectors-10-pieces/ ... See MoreSee Less
Vapor Pin is at Ferrara.
Vapor Pin
I'm thrilled to share with you the program of Remtech Europe 2021. This important environmental conference is made of 23 sessions fully ONLINE. Any session is completely FREE.To follow any session you have to register in our website https://remtech.meeters.space with a valid email. To reserve your seat, receive the presentations in pdf and receive your Certificate of Attendance of the session you will attend, you have to register in the Google form of each session. In each form you would find also the detailed program and beginning and end in different time zones. Reserve your seat today!SESSION 1 (Organized by JRC-European Commission) From policy talking to industry actions: Zero Pollution for Soil Mon 20 SEPTEMBER 09:00 – 13.00 CEST https://forms.gle/RhvqacpBJKrXvveq6SESSION 2 (Organized by US Army Corps of Engineers) TRAINING COURSE - PFAS: characterization, environmental impact, remediation strategies Mon 20 SEPTEMBER 14.30 – 19.00 CEST https://forms.gle/pSJzwMWt7G1mERUKASESSION 3 Sustainable management of contaminated sites Mon 20 SEPTEMBER 14.30 – 16.30 CEST https://forms.gle/GzgcfXHWEzTySktVASESSION 4 Waste tailings and acid mine drainage: challenges for Mining Sites Mon 20 SEPTEMBER 17.00 – 19.00 CEST https://forms.gle/RqQLnZqXeoJd5dKK8SESSION 5 Bioremediation and phytoremediation in agricultural, industrial, and military sites Tue 21 SEPTEMBER 09.00 – 11.00 CEST https://forms.gle/sScosaSUwsSh5AH79SESSION 6 Oil and hydrocarbons impacted sites Tue 21 SEPTEMBER 11.30 – 13.30 CEST https://forms.gle/VFx1Re2txyaxF2z78SESSION 7 HRSC, High Resolution Site Characterization Tue 21 SEPTEMBER 11.30 – 13.30 CEST https://forms.gle/okDrkFA8YrsAUhcRASESSION 8 (Organized by ASTM) TRAINING COURSE - ASTM STANDARDS: PFAS, Sediment and Climate Resilience Tue 21 SEPTEMBER 14.30 – 19.00 CEST https://forms.gle/pnz5H6edwFi6p1QA9SESSION 9 Innovative, digital and smart characterization techniques tools Tue 21 SEPTEMBER 14.30 – 16.30 CEST https://forms.gle/5MvheZmiPq5aQphW8SESSION 10 Circular Economy: how to apply it in the context of the next Generation EU Tue 21 SEPTEMBER 17.00 – 19.00 CEST https://forms.gle/tHBuZXpuraKiHYwi8SESSION 11 Soil remediation: can we deal in a sustainable way? Wed 22 SEPTEMBER 09.00 – 11.00 CEST https://forms.gle/Zh8gKvK1bn8BxcJk9SESSION 12 DNAPL and chlorinated compounds: optimize the process to achieve the target Wed 22 SEPTEMBER 11.30 – 13.30 CEST https://forms.gle/M8zcit6jQiNaBa446SESSION 13 (Organized by SERDP-ESTCP) TRAINING COURSE - Current Approaches for Vapor Intrusion Site Investigation and Mitigation Wed 22 SEPTEMBER 14.30 – 19.00 CEST https://forms.gle/q4BigJhPv891kG4U8SESSION 14 (Organized by Ramboll) TRAINING COURSE - Sustainability assessment as a tool for a more sustainable and resilient remediation of soils, groundwater and sediments Wed 22 SEPTEMBER 14.30 – 16.30 CEST https://forms.gle/LFBFwAaWqdnvPQUb8SESSION 15 PFAS, remediating the forever chemical Wed 22 SEPTEMBER 17.00 – 19.00 CEST https://forms.gle/H3yXyRzBshvKifBM9SESSION 16 Microplastics and sediments: two main threats for ports and coastal areas Thu 23 SEPTEMBER 09.00 – 11.00 CEST https://forms.gle/GQCAfXJ142r23r2B9SESSION 17 Sustainathon Thu 23 SEPTEMBER 14.00 – Fri 24 SEPTEMBER 14:00 CEST https://forms.gle/zCQBwt3eG1xBFGSM7SESSION 18 Aeriforms and vapor intrusion: measures and models Thu 23 SEPTEMBER 11.30 – 13.30 CEST https://forms.gle/m1KikTrbNncick936SESSION 19 Groundwater remediation in difficult conditions Thu 23 SEPTEMBER 11.30 – 13.30 CEST https://forms.gle/d9neHnF2sP9mN8hu6SESSION 20 (Organized by AESAS) TRAINING COURSE - State of the art of contaminated sites in Brazil Thu 23 SEPTEMBER 14.30 – 19.00 CEST https://forms.gle/Yy5hBLnzX2qngWcS8SESSION 21 River environment: managing impacts from different sources Fri 24 SEPTEMBER 09.00 – 11.00 CEST https://forms.gle/Ydgj3UFN13TTg3Yk8SESSION 22 Wastewater and sewer sludge, handling the last link in the chain Fri 24 SEPTEMBER 11:30 – 13.30 CEST https://forms.gle/L6Tsi5zPVfUpWQhEASESSION 23 TRAINING COURSE: Wastewater control and seawater quality: it is possible to do it acting differently? Fri 25 SEPTEMBER 14.30 – 19.00 CEST https://forms.gle/mvTELbnKXZr4S6cs5Feel free to share to your colleagues or to any contacts that you think he/she may be interested. REMEMBER THAT THE CONFERENCE IS FREE, NO FEES. JOIN US !See you online!Laurie A. ChilcoteRemtech Europe Ambassador ... See MoreSee Less
Vapor Pin is at RemTech Expo.
Vapor Pin
Decontamination and Decommissioning of Warehouses - Gela Industrial Site. - Author: Mariangela Venco (ENI Rewind) RemTech Expo ... See MoreSee Less
We are excited to announce our Brazil Patent BR 11 2018 004186-6 has been granted!#remediation #vaporintrusion #contaminatedsites #vaporpin #vi #coxcolvin #patent #Brazil ... See MoreSee Less
Don't miss out, join us next week at one or all of the following webinars to see and be seen!Tuesday - May 19th with Brownfield Summit, Craig Cox will be presenting at 10:35 EST - Evaluating and Remediating a Complex Contaminated Groundwater Plumehttps://www.brownfieldsummit.com/programmeWednesday - May 20th with MSECA - Craig Cox will be presenting on Sanitary Sewers as the Expected Preferential Pathway in Vapor Intrusion Evaluations.http://mseca.org/2020-05_-_Seminar.phpThursday - May 20th with Alpha Labs, Join Craig Cox and Laurie Chilcote as they do a live sub-slab demo Vapor Intrusion: Sampling with Confidence for Mid-Atlantic Stateshttps://register.gotowebinar.com/register/8677107578848466445 ... See MoreSee Less
We are excited to participate in the virtual seminar Vapor Intrusion: Sampling with Confidence for the Mid-Atlantic region, with Mark Mank of the Maryland Department of the Environment, Todd Creamer of Geosyntec Consultants, Christina Lewis at Langan Engineering & Environmental Services, Craig Cox at Cox-Colvin and Associates, Inc. and our own William Elcoate and Andy Rezendes. This event is free. NJ LSRP CEC Application for credits is pending. Registration is open: https://lnkd.in/djzaP9B ... See MoreSee Less
We are OPEN for business, stocked and ready to support you. Please be safe, wash your hands and practice social distancing! ... See MoreSee Less
We are OPEN for business. Just noticed are website has a hiccup. If you can't get online, please call our office for direct sales. 614-504-6915.We apologize for the inconvenience and hope to have the site back up momentarily! #vaporpin ... See MoreSee Less

Main Content

Vapor Intrusion News


 

Introduction to Active versus Passive Soil-Gas Sampling

Guest Author – Written by Bart Eklund, The Global Practice Leader for Vapor Intrusion at AECOM

Active and passive sampling are the two primary approaches for collecting a soil-gas sample for subsequent off-site analysis. For an active sample, soil gas typically is withdrawn from the soil using the vacuum within an evacuated, stainless-steel canister or pulled through a sorbent using a pump. For a passive sample, a sorbent typically is placed in the ground where it will encounter soil gas that moves through the soil matrix via molecular diffusion or advection (pressure-driven transport).

Note that both active and passive methods may employ sorbents. Commonly used sorbents for active sampling include Carbotrap (e.g., TO-17), activated charcoal (e.g., radon), and silica gel (e.g., methanol). So, while all passive sampling involves sorbents, not all sorbent sampling is passive.

Relative Advantages and Disadvantages of Canister Sampling

The default approach in the US for soil-gas sampling to evaluate potential vapor intrusion (VI) has long been to collect active samples in canisters for subsequent off-site GC/MS analysis using USEPA Method TO-15 in full-scan mode. There are several reasons for this: 1) the standard TO-15 analyte list includes the primary risk drivers for VI at many sites (in particular benzene, trichloroethylene [TCE], and tetrachloroethylene [PCE]), 2) the approach is capable of addressing a large number of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), 3) the detection limits are sufficient to determine whether screening levels are exceeded or not, 4) the method is applicable over a very wide range of concentrations, 5) multiple analytical methods can be run on a single sample, 6) the infrastructure of testing laboratories, sampling media, cleaning procedures, etc. was already in place for ambient (outdoor) air studies when VI emerged as a topic, 7) background contamination from sampling media generally is not an issue, and 8) the sampling does not require field crews with extensive air sampling experience.

The relative disadvantages of the canister/TO-15 approach include: 1) it is not appropriate or well-suited for certain analytes, such as semi-volatile organics (SVOCs), and 2) drill rigs or extensive hand augering are needed to collect exterior soil-gas samples at desired depths (generally 5 ft. [1.5m] below ground surface [bgs] at a minimum).

Relative Advantages and Disadvantages of Passive Sorbent Sampling

Passive sampling approaches are the best option for some tasks. The primary advantages of passive sorbent sampling are: that the installation is relatively simple and can be performed using a hand drill. This can result in substantial cost savings relative to using a drill rig. Other advantages include: 2) the sampling is extremely simple and requires little experience or technical knowledge (so simple a caveman or a geologist could do it), and 3) the sampling media are very small, which simplifies packing and shipping.

The ability to provide time-integrated data over a one- or two-week period is sometimes cited as an advantage. For most scenarios, however, there is no evidence of short-term temporal variability in soil gas concentrations. So, a grab sample and a one-week sample should yield equivalent results.

With any sorbent method, there is a need to address potential background contributions from the sorbent. This is typically achieved by analyzing multiple method blanks or trip blanks. Also, as with any sorbent method, it is important to collect enough mass to achieve an adequate detection limit but not so much mass as to saturate the sorbent. If a realistic estimate of the soil-gas concentration can be made, the sampling duration can be optimized.

There are several potential limitations specific to passive sorbent sampling of soil gas that should be kept in mind. 1) The sampling depth tends to be relatively shallow (e.g., 18 in. [50 cm] bgs). Therefore, the data are somewhat more prone to the effect of environmental variables such as infiltrating rainwater than deeper samples. 2) There is no simple way to perform a leak check. Therefore, the potential for a poor installation to result in a low bias due to intrusion of atmospheric air cannot be directly assessed. 3) The analysis yields emission rate data, with units of mass/time, for a given VOC. If a number of samples are collected over the same time period, the data set provides the spatial variability of mass. The data can be converted to a concentration (e.g., ppbv) if the uptake rate of the sampler for a particular VOC is known. For tight clayey soils, however, the calculated concentration will be biased low if the transport of vapors through the soil is slower than the uptake rate of the sampler. In other words, the vapors surrounding the sampler are not replenished as fast as the vapors are sorbed. This is usually termed the “starvation effect.” For the above reasons, many regulators do not accept passive soil gas data for input to a human health risk assessment.

Field Applications of Passive Sorbent Sampling

The best approach to use for a given situation will depend on the objectives of the study (i.e., what question is being addressed?). For sub-slab soil-gas sampling, either active or passive methods are good options. The choice may come down to the specific analytes of interest, whether there are any schedule constraints, and the experience of the sampling crew.

Historically, the primary use of passive soil-gas sampling has been exterior soil gas sampling to map out the plume of impacted groundwater (and/or impacted soil) relatively early in the investigative process at a site. For example, one or two passive samplers per residential lot have been used in a neighborhood of about 100 single-family residential buildings to refine the conceptual site model. The data set allows areas of relatively low, medium, high, and very high impacts to be color-coded and mapped in 2-D. This can be used by decision-makers to screen out certain portions of the neighborhood from further consideration and identify locations where follow-up exterior soil-gas sampling or testing inside of buildings is warranted. Where both active and passive soil-gas data have been collected at the same location, the data tend to show good agreement.

Mapping studies often rely upon sampling along utility right-of-ways (e.g., between sidewalks and streets) to minimize the need to get signed access agreements. These locations, however, may yield false positive results near storm/sanitary sewer lines, which often are not leak-tight and may have released small amounts of VOCs in the past. This can be addressed by avoiding sampling in proximity to sewer lines or by collecting multiple samples to define the lateral concentration gradient radiating out from the sewer line.

Bart Eklund is the Global Practice Leader for Vapor Intrusion at AECOM. He has developed both sampling approaches and analytical methods during his 40-year career.