Recent developments in laboratory testing services for underground storage tank investigations and remediations

Almost every Environmental Site Assessment includes investigations of on-site and neighboring underground storage tank (UST) systems. Several million underground storage tank systems in the United States contain petroleum or hazardous chemicals. Many of these USTs are currently leaking or are expected to leak. Leaking tanks may be responsible for introducing hazardous liquids into the ground, spreading contamination and threatening water supplies. Evaluation of contamination conditions and possible remediation strategies requires analytical test results that represent quality defensible data. In addition to accurate test results, perspective on test method bias and inherent error is critical to successful evaluation of test results and formulation of site response plans. This paper reviews the analytical test methods most often employed during UST investigation and remediation. Test method bias and alternative procedures are given as well as the relationship of these methods to remediation technologies. One of the technologies, bioremediation, has emerged as a promising method for UST cleanup. It is less well appreciated that open-quotes bioremediationclose quotes also occurs in laboratory samples, thus potentially confounding site assessment