Soil Contamination Monitoring

Previous land uses or accidental spills can result in Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) contamination of soils. Volatile and semi-volatile compounds can then permeate through the soil and may persist for several years.

This contamination can be traced and measured using our Soil Probes in conjunction with our VOC sorbent tubes. Soil probes are also useful in checking the effectiveness of remediation actions. This monitoring technique provides a cost-effective identification of hazardous gases.

Potential areas of soil pollution include:

• Industrial sites and derelict land.
• Landfill sites.
• Oil refineries.
• Petrol stations.
• Spills of petrol or other chemicals.

During soil contamination monitoring, soil probes are positioned in a grid pattern over the site of interest to build up a map of pollution. Alternatively they may be positioned along the length of an underground pipe or around the perimeter of the site, depending on the application required. Boundary sampling can be used to monitor the migration of pollutants away from the original spill.

Our soil probes can be used for long-term monitoring to assess changes in pollution levels or for short-term monitoring to identify areas of interest for further investigation (passive or pumped sampling). The use of air sampling pumps in conjunction with the soil probes enables the user to quickly and easily monitor the migration of gas plumes.

The majority of our VOC sorbent tubes can be used with Soil Probes, allowing a broad range of compounds to be measured. Please visit the VOC product pages for more information about the VOC monitoring options.