Innovative technology summary report: compact subsurface soil investigation system

The compact subsurface soil investigation system is a mobile soil sampler used to obtain soil samples, including from below concrete floors, such as under fuel storage basins. If soils under buildings can be sampled and analyzed to document that the soil is not contaminated and thus can remain in place, the concrete structure over it may also be left in place or only partially removed. Taking soil samples through a concrete floor, often in inaccessible or congested locations, required rugged, portable equipment, such as the improved technology tested, the Geoprobe Model 540M soil sampler that is mounted on a hand cart. The traditional (baseline) technology used a comparable probe mounted on a full-size, 1-ton capacity, diesel-powered truck. The truck was not easily able to access all areas, because of its greater size and weight. In two sample holes from below the fuel storage basin at C-Reactor, the Geoprobe Model 540M was able to penetrate to the full sampling target depth of 3.3 m (10 ft). In the other three locations the sampler was stopped at lesser depths because of large stones. The Geoprobe 540M reduced schedule time and reduced costs by approximately 50% versus the baseline technology. For sampling at a congested fuel storage basin at five locations, the improved technology cost $7,300, whereas the baseline technology would have cost $13,000. As an extension of this demonstration, cost savings and schedule acceleration can be expected to increase commensurate with structure complexity/congestion and the number of samples required