COLUMBIA Technologies’ Standardized Operating Procedures (SOP) including Quality Assurance (QA) are based on the manufacturer’s (Geoprobe Systems® [MIP/HPT/EC] and Dakota Technologies, Inc. [LIF]) guidelines combined with 12 years of experience in field chemistry, sampling, and data acquisition as well as 10 years working with multiple direct sensing and real time information on over 750+ projects.
COLUMBIA Technologies’ system calibration, performance testing, and quality assurance procedures can be summarized as follows:
- System configuration and lineup including pressure, flow rate and operating temperature for the target compounds of interest.
- Aqueous phase performance testing for system response and trip time for individual target compounds.
- Aqueous phase performance testing for target compound mixture and comparison to established run control charts prior to and after each logging event or after equipment replacements or repair.
- Corrective action procedures for any condition that results in performance testing results
exceeding control limits. - System control charts are uploaded after each performance testing for comparison to existing
database and QA review.
The MIP system provided includes an ECD for lowest possible detection levels of chlorinated compounds, a PID for aromatic compounds and FID for highest possible concentrations of hydrocarbons. Three detectors also provide opportunity for separating solvent contamination from interference with petroleum contamination.
The HPT system provided is advanced through the subsurface at a constant rate while water is injected through a screen on the side of a probe to identify the relative ability of a soil to transmit water.
The EC system provided comes in two different configurations, Dipole Array and Wenner Array. Both configurations have the same theory of operation resulting in a reading in milli-Siemens per meter (mS/m).
The LIF system provided fluoresces for PAHs that have both a spectral and temporal component while monitoring four unique bands of this emission in real-time.
Trapping and real time chromatographic analysis is also available as SmartScan™ option to provide real time verification of constituent compounds detected by the MIP; additional pricing would apply.
