A pump-and-treat system to remove a CVOC contamination in the soil and groundwater had been operating at a metal processing company in the federal state of Bavaria for over 10 years. However, after tests on CVOC concentrations in the groundwater showed that the situation had hardly improved, the local consultant called on EnISSA to conduct an in-depth survey.
MIP with GC-MS detection provides essential insights into extent of the contamination
We used EnISSA’s MIP with GC-MS detection on this project as this also enabled us to detect relatively low concentrations of CVOC in the groundwater and see how this had migrated
In-depth survey results reduce uncertainty
The survey revealed several significant issues: Whereas groundwater monitoring results in one of the extraction filters had fluctuated between 50 and 170 µg/L PCE for the past ten years, the MIP with GC-MS detection indicated concentrations of up to 5000 µg/L.
The MIP logging tool showed that this contamination was localised between 7 and 8 metres below ground level. As the extraction filter is positioned at 4 to 8 metres below ground level, samples from uncontaminated or hardly contaminated zones are also extracted, causing dilution. This results in both an unclear picture of the contamination and can also lead to soil remediation that has hardly any effect
MIP with GC-MS detection results in reliable remediation strategy
Clear insight into the contamination situation is essential for an effective remediation strategy.
If you’d like to know more about our methods or approach, please don’t hesitate to contact us.