Skip common site navigation and headers
United States Environmental Protection Agency
National Risk Management Research Laboratory
Begin Hierarchical Links EPA Home > Research & Development > National Risk Management Research Laboratory > EPA 600/R-01/080 End Hierarchical Links

Innovative Technology Verification Report
Field Measurement Technologies for
Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons in Soil

siteLAB® Corporation
siteLAB® Analytical Test Kit UVF-3100A

This document is available in the Adobe Acrobat PDF Format.
Click here for information about Portable Document File (PDF) Formats.
or
Click here to directly download the Acrobat Reader.

(To view the PDF, it is recommended that you use the latest Acrobat Reader) 


Innovative Technology Verification Report

siteLAB® Corporation
siteLAB® Analytical Test Kit UVF-3100A

EPA 600/R-01/080
September 2001


siteLAB® Analytical Test Kit UVF-3100A (UVF-3100A) developed by siteLAB® Corporation
(siteLAB®) was demonstrated under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Superfund
Innovative Technology Evaluation Program in June 2000 at the Navy Base Ventura County site in
Port Hueneme, California. The purpose of the demonstration was to collect reliable performance
and cost data for the UVF-3100A and six other field measurement devices for total petroleum
hydrocarbons (TPH) in soil. In addition to assessing ease of device operation, the key objectives of
the demonstration included determining the (1) method detection limit, (2) accuracy and precision,
(3) effects of interferents and soil moisture content on TPH measurement, (4) sample throughput, and
(5) TPH measurement costs for each device. The demonstration involved analysis of both
performance evaluation samples and environmental samples collected in five areas contaminated with
gasoline, diesel, lubricating oil, or other petroleum products. The performance and cost results for
a given field measurement device were compared to those for an off-site laboratory reference method,
“Test Methods for Evaluating Solid Waste” (SW-846) Method 8015B (modified). During the
demonstration, siteLAB® required 37 hours, 20 minutes, for TPH measurement of 199 samples and
13 extract duplicates. The TPH measurement costs were estimated to be $7,090 for siteLAB®’s
UVF-3100A rental option; $7,720 for the UVF-3100A on-site testing support service option; and
$17,670 for the UVF-3100A purchase option compared to $42,500 for the reference method. The
method detection limits were determined to be 3.4 and 6.32 milligrams per kilogram for the
UVF-3100A and reference method, respectively. During the demonstration, the UVF-3100A
exhibited good accuracy and precision, ease of use, and lack of sensitivity to interferents that are not
petroleum hydrocarbons (neat materials, including tetrachloroethene; turpentine; and
1,2,4-trichlorobenzene and soil spiked with humic acid). However, the device showed less than
5 percent response to neat materials (methyl-tert-butyl ether and Stoddard solvent) that are petroleum
hydrocarbons. In addition, it exhibited minor sensitivity to soil moisture content during TPH
measurement of weathered gasoline soil samples. Despite some of the limitations observed during
the demonstration, the demonstration findings collectively indicated that the UVF-3100A is a
reliable field measurement device for TPH in soil.

Back to SITE Reports

 

Posted December 03, 2001
Jesse Armstrong
Computer Sciences Corporation

 

 

Office of Research & Development | National Risk Management Research Laboratory

 
Begin Site Footer

EPA Home | Privacy and Security Notice | Contact Us