J. Gibs | Search USGS

USGS2005

Well-purging criteria for sampling purgeable organic compounds

The results indicate that 1) purgeable organic compound concentrations stabilized when three casing volume were purged in only 55% of the cases evaluated in this study, 2) purgeable organic compounds concentrations did not consistently follow the temporal variation of, nor stabilize at the same time as, the measure field characteristics, and 3) purging to achieve hydraulic equilibrium between casing and aquifer water consistently underestimated the time and casing volumes needed to achieve stable values of water-quality measurements in highly transmissive aquifers. The conclusion from these data is that none of the previously recommended criteria for purging a well can be applied reliably to collecting a "representative' sample of purgeable organic compounds. These results indicate that the criteria for purging a well prior to sampling for purgeable organic compounds must take into account other factors, such as the unique hydrogeologic characteristics of a site, the nature and extent of purgeable organic compounds present, and areal extent of the contamination, the well construction, and the sampling objectives of the investigation. -from Authors

Ground Water↗

USGS2005

Change in field turbidity and trace element concentrations during well purging

Various physical and chemical properties were monitored sequentially in the field during well purging as indicators of stabilization of the composition of the water in the well. Turbidity was monitored on site during purging of oxic water from three wells with screened intervals open to an unconfined aquifer system in the Coastal Plain of southern New Jersey to determine if stabilization of turbidity is a reliable indicator of the optimum purge time required to collect unbiased trace element samples. Concurrent split (one filtered, one unfiltered) samples collected during purging of the wells were analyzed for concentrations of trace elements so that the relationships between trace element concentrations and turbidity could be compared. Turbidity correlated with the whole water recoverable (WWR) concentration of trace element species, such as iron (Fe), aluminum (Al), and manganese (Mn) in the oxic ground water. Turbidity appeared to be independent of other field-measured characteristics of water such as conductivity, pH, temperature, and dissolved oxygen. The WWR concentration of lead and copper, considered to be hydrophobic, correlated significantly with the sum of the WWR concentration of Fe, Al, and Mn. High values of field-measured turbidity were a key indicator of an overestimate of ambient hydrophobic trace element WWR concentrations. Stabilization of turbidity was a better indicator of stable, unfiltered trace element concentrations than were the other commonly measured field characteristics. At one well, turbidity was a better indicator of stable, filtered trace element concentrations than the other commonly measured field characteristics. As analytical methods for trace elements improve resulting in smaller MRLs (method reporting levels) and better precision, turbidity of ground water at values of less than 10 NTU (nepheiometric turbidity units) will become important in interpreting the significance of both unfiltered and filtered sample results.

New Jersey↗

USGS1986

BROAD SPECTRUM ANALYSIS FOR TRACE ORGANIC POLLUTANTS IN LARGE VOLUMES OF WATER BY XAD RESINS-COLUMN DESIGN-FACTS AND MYTHS.

The 'rule of thumb' that large volumes of water can be sampled for trace organic pollutants by XAD resin columns which are designed by small column laboratory studies or pure compounds is examined and shown to be a problem. A theory of multicomponent breakthrough is presented as a frame of reference to help solve the problem and develop useable criteria to aid the design of resin columns. An important part of the theory is the effect of humic substances on the breakthrough character of multicomponent chemical systems.

Conference Paper↗