Blog & Recent Projects

Article originally featured in the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC) LUSTLine, Bulletin 68, June 2011

 Most recently, the June 2011 issue of LUSTLine featured an article, "Where's the LNAPL? How about Using LIF to Find It?" written by Paul Stock of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) Petroleum Remediation Program (PRP).

Paul's article provides an educational read on the ins and outs of LIF, the effectiveness of this LNAPL mapping tool, and Minnesota's experience in managing LNAPL risks.

Some key highlights include:

• How Minnesota's PRP routinely uses data from LIF probes to target petroleum LNAPL when remediation is necessary
• ITRC's LNAPL Team which has developed a set of excellent classroom training modules that lay out the latest understanding of LNAPL behavior using a multiple lines of evidence approach
• The importance that LNAPL data must be integrated with all available standard site data, including site history, present land use, geology, and soil and groundwater contamination to develop an LNAPL science-based site conceptual model (SCM)

Click the following link to read the full article, Where's the LNAPL? How about Using LIF to Find It?.

To discuss how LIF technology can be applied at your LNAPL site, please contact Brian McCann at +1-(888) 344-2704 ext. 233.

COLUMBIA Technologies’ state-of-the-art equipment and rapid 3D visualizations combined with historical data completed a site assessment so efficiently that the original project work scope was reduced by 50%.

On this recently completed project, a major energy company required state clearance from regulators prior to advancing their expansion plans at an active petroleum refinery facility in western North Dakota.

Historical data indicated potential contamination in the expansion area requesting for rapid resolution to address regulatory concerns. The client engaged in a site assessment with COLUMBIA to map the area of concern and compare this with the historical data using COLUMBIA’s award winning SmartData Solutions®. With a dynamic work scope and real-time data measurement the team bound the area of concern and closed data gaps to reduce the problem at hand for the client as well as the regulatory agencies.

 During a recent site characterization in Hawaii using LIF/UVOST^® technology COLUMBIA Technologies encountered relatively low levels of petroleum contamination hidden in an usually high background response. This resulted due to the presence of naturally occurring fluorescence materials (likely calcareous sands) in the subsurface at the site. This elevated background fluctuated in response intensity from log to log and often within a single log, making it more difficult to accurately identify residual petroleum contamination responses in the subsurface.

Dakota Technologies, the inventor and manufacturer of UVOST^® instrumentation, was able to mathematically separate five different petroleum compound signatures from the background interference. This extended data processing enabled COLUMBIA to more accurately map the residual petroleum concentration in 3D. The subsequent data set correlated well to soil samples selected by the client providing multiple lines of evidence of the extent of the historical petroleum spill.