On-site Chemical Analysis

ESG provide a unique combination of on-site laboratory, data management and interpretative skills to establish a rapid, high quality analytical capability for soil, water and air samples.

In contrast to other on-site screening services, we have focused our methods on providing analytical quality and detail of results in addition to providing more general chemical screening.

All on-site analysis data is recorded into a project database and can be presented to the client screened against site specific criteria to allow instant interpretation and decision making.

Rapid On-site Chemical Analysis 

It is often the case that site specific chemical thresholds require more detailed information on individual chemicals and compounds as well as lower detection limits than those available from field screening, which is then used to provide immediate data for instant decision making.

We are able to offer high quality data within hours of taking a sample through the innovative on site application of proven analytical techniques.

We are focussed on providing high quality results with the best level of quality control, detection limits and speciation of compounds - all available in a very short timescale from sampling. On-site analysis is available for a wide range of chemicals and we can establish calibrations for tailored suites depending on the specific issues of an individual site.

The common analyses that are currently established and available for both soil and water include:

• Metals analysis to ppm levels (soil only)
• Speciated BTEX to ppb levels
• Speciated aromatic and chlorinated volatile organic compounds to ppb levels • Carbon Banded PRO/GRO with aliphatic and aromatic speciation
• Carbon Banded TPH
• Total TPH, PAH and BTEX
• Ammonia, Phenol and Cyanide.

Applications

The use of on-site analysis is invaluable where programming is critical or informed decisions need to be made in a very short timescale. Key applications are:

• Earthworks material sentencing - where decisions about material re-use have to be made, the confidence in high quality data within a few hours of sampling means that great savings can be made on double handling, stockpiling and unnecessary waste disposal
• Remediation validation - where soil remediation is taking place, either by excavation or by ex situ soil treatment, rapid results can avoid the backfilling of excavations or use of material at risk of expensive re-excavation when 'failed' laboratory data is received
• Waste classification - the ever increasing cost of hazardous waste disposal and scarcity of disposal facilities means that the rapid classification of material on-site can be of great financial and environmental benefit by ensuring that the volume of waste disposed as hazardous is kept to a minimum. Contaminated soil often falls into the hazardous category due to hydrocarbon content. The principle of the Environment Agency's complex guidance on this can be applied using the detailed hydrocarbon analysis that ESG provides
• Site investigations - where preliminary sampling is based on a simple grid system or limited targeted sampling, a lot more questions can be raised than answered once the laboratory data is received. Good quality on-site data can be invaluable in enabling the identification and delineation of hotspots in one phase of investigation
• Health and safety assessments - The handling of material and the hazard zoning of remediation sites can be based on the contamination risks from airborne dust and vapours. Rapid analysis of the soil and air measurements can help to ensure the safety of remediation site staff
• Waste water discharges - It is often the case that laboratory analysis of water discharges to surface waters or to foul sewer returns results long after the discharge is complete. On-site data for a discharge or the waste water source can ensure compliance with consents and avoid prosecutions.

Field Screens for Immediate Data

Our Field Scientists can screen soil and water samples at the point of sampling for on-site or off-site analysis to provide useful guidance for earthworks progress or site investigations. It is reported immediately in the field and supported by a printed report with full sample location, description and chemical data.

Our field screening covers:

• Headspace screening for volatile hydrocarbons and other VOCs
• XRF screening for metals (soil samples)
• Visual screening for asbestos (soil samples)
• Explosive/flammable gas monitoring
• Air sampling and analysis for volatiles and a wide range of individual chemicals
• Water quality measurements (eg. pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, ammonia).

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