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SITE CHARACTERIZATION ANALYSIS PENETROMETER SYSTEM (SCAPS) - INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION REPORT
Citation:
Hess, E. AND D. Hamilton. SITE CHARACTERIZATION ANALYSIS PENETROMETER SYSTEM (SCAPS) - INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION REPORT. EPA/540/R-95/520 (NTIS 96-130679), 1995.
Impact/Purpose:
information
Description:
In August 1994, a demonstration of cone penetrometer-mounted sensor technologies took place to evaluate their effectiveness in sampling and analyzing the physical and chemical characteristics of subsurface sod at hazardous waste sites. he effectiveness of each technology was evaluated by comparing each technology's results to the insults obtained using conventional reference methods. The demonstration was developed under the EPA's Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation Program. Three technologies were evaluated: The Rapid Optical Screening Tool (ROST) marketed by Loral Corporation, the Site Characterization and Analysis Penetrometer System (SCAPS) developed by the Tri-Services (Army, Navy, and Air Force), and the conductivity sensor developed by Geoprobe Systems. These technologies were designed to provide rapid sampling and real-time, relatively low cost analysis of the physical and chemical characteristics of subsurface soil to quickly distinguish contaminated areas from noncontaminated areas. Results for the ROST and Geoprobe technologies are presented in separate reports similar to this one. Three sites were selected for the demonstration, each contained varying concentrations of coal tar waste and petroleum fuels, and wide ranges in soil texture. This demonstration found that the SCAPS technology produced screening level data. Specifically, the qualitative assessment showed that the stratigraphic and chemical cross sections from SCAPS were comparable to the reference methods. The technology's identification of the relative magnitude of contamination generally matched the reference data. The quantitative assessment found that the SCAPS data was most closely correlated to the total petroleum hydrocarbons and volatile petroleum hydrocarbons data.