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SITE CHARACTERIZATION AND ANALYSIS PENETROMETER SYSTEM(SCAPS) LAZER-INDUCED FLUORESCENCE (LIF) SENSOR AND SUPPORT SYSTEM
Citation:
Bujewski, G. AND B. Rutherford. SITE CHARACTERIZATION AND ANALYSIS PENETROMETER SYSTEM(SCAPS) LAZER-INDUCED FLUORESCENCE (LIF) SENSOR AND SUPPORT SYSTEM. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-97/019, 2000.
Description:
The Consortium for Site Characterization Technology (CSCT) has established a formal program to accelerate acceptance and application of innovative monitoring and site characterization technologies that improve the way the nation manages its environmental problems. In 1995 the CSCT conducted a demonstration of two in situ laser-induced fluorescence-based technologies using the Site Characterization and Analysis Penetrometer System (SCAPS) cone penetrometer testing (CPT) platform. The purpose of this Innovative Technology Verification Report (ITVR) is to document the demonstration activities, present and evaluate the demonstration data in order to verify the performance of the SCAPS LIF sensing technology relative to developer claims. The SCAPS LIF system uses a pulsed laser coupled with an optical detector to measure fluorescence via optical fibers. The LIF method provides data on the in situ distribution of petroleum hydrocarbons based on the fluorescence response induced in the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) compounds that are components of petroleum hydrocarbons.
The primary objectives of the field demonstrations were to evaluate the SCAPS LIF technology. In the approved demonstration plan, the developers presented several performance claims against which they were evaluated. The demonstration was designed to evaluate the LIF technology as a field screening method by comparing LIF data to data produced by conventional sampling and analytical methods. The main savings attributable to the SCAPS LIF system is that it can substantially reduce the number of monitoring wells drilled at a site. In a general site characterization effort, it can provide data in less time as far less expensively than a conventional drilling and sampling. Investigation-derived wastes are minimal, and worker exposure to contaminants is reduced when using in situ technologies rather than conventional drilling and sampling methods.