In Situ Site Investigation offers a range of rapid screening tools designed to identify, map and model contamination as quickly and as cost effectively as possible.

All the tooling is compatible with our CPT rigs, allowing for quick deployment to site. We can quickly and easily identify and map source zones, transport areas, plumes and mass storage areas and adjust the site investigation on-the-fly as data is collected and processed in real time.

The MIP (membrane interface probe) is a logging tool that measures volatile hydrocarbon and solvent contamination along with soil electrical conductance and permeability. An inert carrier gas is inserted behind a heated membrane in the probe, delivering it to a series of detectors at the surface. The detectors each respond to different analyte properties which allows the MIP operator to discern the contaminant to its family group as well as provide the ability to map out the contaminant plume.

The HPT (hydraulic profiling tool) is a logging tool that measures the pressure required to inject a flow of water into the soil as the probe is advanced into the ground. This injection pressure log is an excellent indicator of formation permeability. In addition to measurement of injection pressure, the HPT can also be used to measure hydrostatic pressure under the zero-flow condition. This allows the development of an absolute piezometric pressure profile for the log and prediction of the position of the water table. The piezometric profile can be used to calculate the corrected HPT pressure. This data along with the flow rate can then be used to calculate an estimate of hydraulic conductivity (K) in the saturated formation.

The MIHPT is a cone which combines both the MIP and HPT (membrane interface probe – hydraulic profiling tool) which measures volatile hydrocarbon and solvent contamination along with soil electrical conductance and permeability. Obtaining an understanding of VOC contaminant in context with soil conductance and permeability, allows the investigator to know if the VOC contamination is in a high permeability transport zone, a moderate permeability slow advection zone or in a low permeability storage zone. Knowing this context should aid the investigator with decisions on the proper remedial approach that should be made.

WASTAP is an intrusive water sampling system. It allows you to take discrete water samples at depth as long as the permeability is suitable. It is pushed into the ground to the required sample depth and then pulled back 50cm, exposing the sample filter area. A hand pump is then used to extract the water sample from the ground into sample jars inside the CPT rig. The WASTAP is then brought back to the surface and cleaned before reusing.

The OIP (Optical Image Profiler) is a direct push tool used for the delineation of non-aqueous phase liquid (NAPL) hydrocarbon fuels and oils. The OIP-UV probe is designed with UV and visible light sources which are directed out of a sapphire window which is mounted on the side of the probe. As the probe is advanced into the ground, the UV light source induces fluorescence of the fuel polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). This fluorescence is captured by an onboard camera which operates at 30 images per second. Images are saved throughout the advancement of the log and still photos are taken using UV and visible light sources at each rod addition as well as at operator chosen depths.