Blog & Recent Projects

NEIWPCC's LUSTLine Bulletin Features LIF to Answer the Question: Where's the LNAPL?

Posted by admin on Jun 30, 2011 5:19:26 PM

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.

Read More →

Tags: High Resolution Site Characterization (HRSC), LIF, LNAPL, UST, UST Cleanup Funds, UVOST

Revised Characterization Plan Accelerates Petroleum Brownfield Cleanup and Redevelopment

Posted by John Sohl on Mar 31, 2011 11:32:35 AM

 Article originally featured in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) CLU-IN Technology News and Trends March 2011 Issue

Most recently, the March 2011 issue of Technology and Trends highlighted a project where COLUMBIA Technologies worked closely with the property owner, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VA DEQ), and the City to address the site's environmental and economic issues.

Efforts to better delineate contamination and accelerate remediation of the former Fannon Petroleum Services site in Alexandria, VA, were initiated in the early 2000s as part of a plan to redevelop the site for residential use.

For this project, the VA DEQ initiated the Triad approach including the development of a conceptual site model and consensus on specific investigative methods and tools, with a focus on using:

  1. Membrane Interface Probe (MIP) to characterize distribution of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in discrete hydrologic units and soil stratigraphy at offsite locations;
  2. Direct-sensing geophysical tools rather than groundwater and soil sampling for initial screening; and
  3. A dynamic work strategy to allow real-time decision making that could identify specific locations for direct-sensing locations as work proceeded.

Click the following link to read the full article, Revised Characterization Plan Accelerates Petroleum Brownfield Cleanup and Redevelopment.

Read More →

Tags: Direct Sensing, High Resolution Site Characterization (HRSC), LNAPL, Membrane Interface Probe, MIP, Triad Approach

SmartData Solutions® helps reduce project work scope by 50%

Posted by John Sohl on Sep 14, 2010 5:56:36 PM

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.

Read More →

Tags: COLUMBIA Technologies, Laser Induced Fluorescence, LIF, LNAPL, News, SmartData Solutions®