Characterization and Monitoring: Technology Tools

This document was prepared for the U.S. Navy and the U.S. EPA. It is intended to provide comparative screening information on analytical and sampling technologies. The goal of the matrix is to ensure that project managers and site stakeholders are aware of the full-range of technology options available to them to assess and characterize contamination at their sites.

Sampling and Analysis Matrix

EPA created the REACH IT System to compile and share information on treatment and characterization technologies for a range of contaminant types and media. After being launched in 1999 as a replacement for the VISITT, Vendor FACTS, and ITT databases, REACH IT was populated over time with information on over 500 remediation technologies and 260 characterization technologies. With the evolution of on-line search services and engines and the development of a range of other resources on technologies and vendors coupled with resource limitations, EPA discontinued the on-line REACH IT System in 2006. Limited technology vendor information from the EPA REACH IT System has been preserved through:

• Searchable Vendor Directory with limited vendor information that is updated quarterly
• Characterization Technology Vendor Summary available for download in MS Excel and PDF formats
• Remediation Technology Vendor Summary available for download in MS Excel and PDF formats

Technology Vendors are encouraged to use the CLU-IN Vendor and Developer Support area as a resource for other methods to promote their tools.

Search and Update Vendor Directory


Visit the CLU-IN Vendor and Developer Support Area


Download Limited Technology Vendor Information

Through the Measurement and Monitoring Technologies for the 21st Century initiative, EPA's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER) will identify and deploy promising measurement and monitoring technologies in response to waste management and site cleanup program needs by matching existing and emerging technologies with OSWER program and client needs.

Visit 21M² Home Page

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program is an important part of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) research and development efforts and helps the Agency to achieve its overall mission to protect human health and the environment. Through the SBIR Program, EPA makes awards to small, high-tech firms for research and development of cutting-edge technologies. The Program is intended to spawn commercial ventures that improve our environment and quality of life, create jobs, increase productivity and economic growth, and improve the international competitiveness of the U.S. technology industry.

Visit SBIR Home Page

The National SBIR/STTR Conference Center is sponsored by the National Science Foundation. This website provides information on SBIR National Meetings, government wide active SBIR/STTR solicitations and hyperlinks to any government websites that concern SBIR/STTR grants.

Visit National SBIR Conference Center

When organic contaminants are degraded in the environment, the ratio of stable isotopes will often change, and the extent of degradation can be recognized and predicted from the change in the ratio of stable isotopes. Recent advances in analytical chemistry make it possible to perform Compound Specific Isotope Analysis (CSIA) on dissolved organic contaminants such as chlorinated solvents, aromatic petroleum hydrocarbons, and fuel oxygenates, at concentrations in water that are near their regulatory standards. The traditional approach for monitoring of concentrations of contaminants at sites often does not offer adequate information about the processes that are responsible for removal of the contaminants. Stable isotope analyses can provide an in-depth understanding of biodegradation or abiotic transformation processes in contaminated aquifers.

Because CSIA is a new approach, there are no widely accepted standards for accuracy, precision and sensitivity, and no established approaches to document accuracy, precision, sensitivity and representativeness. This Guide provides general recommendations on good practice for sampling, for measurement, for data evaluation and for interpretation in CSIA.

Download (3.52 MB/82pp/PDF)

The Environmental Protection Agency is amending a variety of testing and monitoring requirements in the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) hazardous and nonhazardous solid waste regulations and for certain Clean Air Act (CAA) regulations that relate to hazardous waste combustors. These amendments allow more flexibility when conducting RCRA-related sampling and analysis by removing from the regulations a requirement to use the methods found in "?Test Methods for Evaluating Solid Waste, Physical/Chemical Methods," also known as "SW?846," in conducting various testing and monitoring and by limiting required uses of an SW?846 method to circumstances where the method is the only one capable of measuring the particular property (i.e., the method is used to measure a required method-defined parameter).

View Federal Register Notice

Visit Methods Innovation Rule (MIR) Web Site

SW-846 Manual

Contamination from the use of chlorinated solvents, often classified as dense nonaqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs) when in an undissolved state, represents an environmental challenge with global implications. The identification of DNAPL source zones located beneath the water table is critical to ultimately achieve site remediation and aquifer restoration. These papers from Ground Water Monitoring and Remediation provide a comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of many of the methods being used for detecting and delineating DNAPL contaminant source zones and compare the costs for implementing various characterization approaches using synthetic unit model scenarios. The objective is to determine which options are best to pursue based on site characteristics, method performance, and method costs. The findings can be used to assist with selection of appropriate site remediation management options.

Download Part 1 (155K/15pp/PDF)

Download Part 2 (165K/16pp/PDF)

The SW-846 plus contains the Third Edition SW-846 base manual plus Updates I, II, IIA, IIB, and III. The SW-846 contains test procedures recommended for use in conducting the evaluations and measurements needed to comply with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). These methods are approved by EPA for obtaining data to satisfy the requirements of 40 CFR, Parts 122 through 270, promulgated under RCRA, as amended. SW-846 provides procedures for field and laboratory quality control, sampling, determining hazardous constituents in wastes, determining the hazardous characteristics of wastes (toxicity, ignitability, reactivity, and corrosivity), and determining physical properties of wastes. It also contains guidance on how to select appropriate methods.

Order/Purchase CD-ROM


Download Free of Charge

The Environmental Response Team (ERT) offers an array of products to assist other environmental practitioners both in the field and in the office. They offer immediate download of items such as software packages, guidance related to a wide variety of environmental sampling procedures, analytical and quality assurance Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), fact sheets, and bulletins.

For more information, please contact David P. Wright, Environmental Response Team, (732) 321-6743, wright.dave@epa.gov.

ERT Software


ERT Products

The analytical methods section of the CLP web site contains information about Statements of Work (SOWs) under which CLP samples may be analyzed. It provides information about analytical methods available from the CLP on inorganics, organics and low concentration, and non-routine analyses.

View Statements of Work and Other Information

California EPA's Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) has certified the analytical capabilities of the HAPSITE® portable gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GC-MS) system as a field-based analytical method as well as a laboratory instrument for measuring volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in water, soil and soil gas. This 2004 certification report evaluates the performance of the HAPSITE® instrument based on a detailed review of data packages submitted by the technology proponent, of field data generated by independent parties, and of new data collected under the oversight of the DTSC.

Download Report (793K/75pp/PDF)

The Dept. of Energy has funded the development of a direct push (DP) system able to drill through refusal points. This 2004 report describes an evaluation study of the Enhanced Access Penetration System (EAPS) which extends cone penetrometer penetration depth. EAPS consists of four major components: (1) a Wireline CPT/Gas sampling probe and wireline soil and groundwater sampling system, (2) a small diameter air rotary drilling system, (3) environmental sensors that are used to detect and characterize contamination in both real and near-real time, and (4) an integral drill spoils collection and filtration system.

Download Report (1.8MB/66pp/PDF)

This U.S. EPA report summarizes the status of emerging sensor technologies for facilitating long-term ground water monitoring for a class of contaminants called volatile organic compounds (VOCs). It also describes a number of factors, including regulatory acceptance and cost-effectiveness, that influence the applicability of these technologies. The focus is on long-term ground water monitoring that is generally associated with a selected remedy, such as monitored natural attenuation or pump and treat.

Download EPA 542-R-03-007 (594K/61pp/PDF)

Polyethylene-membrane passive-vapor-diffusion samplers, or PVD samplers, have been shown to be an effective and economical reconnaissance tool for detecting and identifying volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in bottom sediments of surface-water bodies in areas of ground-water discharge. Examples of applications at nine hazardous-waste sites in New England demonstrate the utility of PVD samplers in a variety of hydrologic settings, including rivers, streams, ponds, wetlands, and coastal shorelines. Results of PVD sampling at these sites have confirmed the presence and refined the extent of VOC-contaminated ground-water-discharge areas where contaminated ground water is known, and identified areas of VOC-contaminated ground-water discharge where ground-water contamination was previously unknown. The principal VOCs detected were chlorinated and petroleum hydrocarbons. Vapor concentrations in samplers range from not detected to more than 1,000,000 parts per billion by volume. These results provided insights about contaminant distributions and ground-water-flow patterns in discharge areas, and have guided the design of focused characterization activities.

More Information

Direct-push installed monitoring wells of small diameter consist of steel pipe with a vertically slotted screened section and a drive point that is vibrated into unconsolidated soils using a small, portable rig. Rapid installation is possible to depths of more than 100 feet, with no soil cuttings that require disposal. Groundwater samples can be obtained immediately after well installation using inertial bailers and small-diameter tubing. Little purge water is generated because of the small well diameter. Analysis of samples with field instruments yields data that are immediately available to guide further field installations. These documents compare monitoring data obtained from ground water samples taken from both direct-push and conventional auger-drilled wells.

Naval Facilities Engineering Command's Performance Comparison (3.8MB/182pp/PDF)

Air Force Center for Engineering and the Environment's Assessment (29MB/719pp/PDF)


Fort Wainwright, Alaska Application Fact Sheet (12K/1p/PDF)

The EPA ETV program seeks to provide credible information about the performance of environmental technologies from disinterested third parties under the auspices of EPA. The Site Characterization and Monitoring Technologies Pilot functions within the Advanced Monitoring Systems Center of ETV to evaluate technologies that can be used to characterize the environment. Third-party verification organizations design and perform simulated field demonstrations and prepare reports on each technology accompanied by verification statements.

SCMT Pilot

Vendor Opportunities

SCMT Verification Reports and Statements

The Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) is the Department of Defense's (DoD) environmental science and technology development program, planned and executed in full partnership with the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency, with participation by numerous other federal and non-federal organizations. Many of SERDP's projects support improvements in investigating and cleaning up contaminated sites. The Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP) is SERDP's sister program, which supports demonstration and validation of innovative, cost-effective environmental technologies.

ESTCP Site Characterization, Monitoring, and Process Optimization Resources


ESTCP Web Site


SERDP Web Site

Diffusion sampler methods can save from $275-$600 per sample in labor costs. The USGS, the Air Force, and the ITRC (an interstate cooperation work group) partnered to prepare a report summarizing the proper use of diffusion samplers in wells. A second report presents six case studies where the PDB samplers were tested under field conditions. Both reports can be obtained electronically. Hard copies can also be purchased from the USGS by calling 888-ASK-USGS.

Download Reports

ITRC Diffusion Sampler Information Center

Air Force Information on Diffusion Samplers

The EPA Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation (SITE) program was established to provide for the demonstration and evaluation of technologies for use in clean-up of Superfund sites. SITE has worked to evaluate emerging clean-up technologies and to demonstrate and evaluate full-scale, field-ready clean-up and monitoring and measurement technologies. Through the SITE Monitoring and Measurement Technologies program, the EPA National Environmental Research Laboratory-Las Vegas has produced a number of Innovative Technology Evaluation Reports to document the results of the field analytical and sampling technologies it has demonstrated.

SITE Home Page

Measurement & Monitoring Program Reports

Cal/EPA's certification program is a voluntary program that provides participating technology developers, manufacturers, and vendors an independent, recognized third-party evaluation of the performance of new and mature environmental technologies. Developers and manufacturers define quantitative performance claims for their technologies and provide supporting documentation; Cal/EPA reviews that information and, where necessary, conducts additional testing to verify the claims. The technologies, equipment, and products that are proven to work as claimed receive official state certification. The certification program is voluntary and self-supporting. Companies participating in the program pay the costs of evaluating and certifying their technologies.

Technology Certification Program

Comparison of the concentrations of perchlorate, RDX, and HMX in diffusion samplers placed in wells against concentrations in samples collected by low-flow pumped sampling indicates generally good agreement between the pumped and diffusion samples for concentrations of the subject contaminants. The concentration differences indicate no systematic bias related to contaminant type or concentration level.

More Information

DSTs are interactive software tools used by decision-makers to help answer questions, solve problems, and support or refute conclusions. They can be incorporated into a structured decision-making process for environment site clean-up. DSTs often support multiple functions, such as data acquisition, spatial data management, modeling, and cost estimating. The Federal Remediation Technologies Roundtable matrix is a table that provides general information about each DST, such as the types of files that may be imported to, or exported from, the DST, the characteristics of applicable sites (contaminants and media) and the functions it performs. All DSTs that were evaluated are free to the public.

View Matrix

Spatial Analysis and Decision Assistance (SADA) is a free software package from the University of Tennessee that integrates modules for visualizing contaminant concentrations, geospatial analysis, statistical analysis, human health risk assessment, cost/benefit analysis, sampling design, and decision analysis. SADA can be used to address site-specific concerns when characterizing a contaminated site, assessing risk, determining the location of future samples, and when designing remedial action.

Download Software

The American Chemical Society's Division of Environmental Chemistry Home Page offers a free software package, called DQO-PRO, with a tutorial. DQO-PRO is designed to aid the environmental professional to translate a project's overall decision goals (aka, Data Quality Objectives) into the sampling and analysis plans for the project.

DQO-PRO Software and Tutorial

OnSite was developed by the U.S. EPA Ecosystems Research Division of the Office of Research and Development. It was developed to provide continuous access to site assessment calculations for petroleum sites via the Internet. OnSite provides both data and pre-packaged calculations methods. It is meant as an aid to site assessment, to help regulators review modeling reports and to enhance contaminant transport knowledge.

Visit OnSite

Fully Integrated Environmental Location Decision Support (FIELDS) software is a package under development through USEPA Region 5. FIELDS is a sophisticated mix of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Global Positioning System (GPS), a database, statistical and geostatistical analysis algorithms, and imaging technologies. FIELDS System beta version software is currently available on CD-ROM. It is still being tested and debugged, so USEPA would like to limit its availability to Federal, State and tribal agencies only.

FIELDS website

This beta version software package is downloadable free of charge. The software assists development of cost-effective, statistically-based sampling plans, and is is applicable for any two-dimensional sampling plan. VSP calculates the number of samples under various scenarios, includes cost considerations, and provides random or gridded sampling locations for overlay on a site map. The website also provides training information and links to other sites that provide software for use in contaminated site cleanup.

VSP Software web site

The vendor support area provides technology developers and vendors with tools to help advance technologies through all stages of product development from bench scale to full commercialization. The materials cover a broad range of topics that include business planning, marketing, financing, and technical issues and sources.

Vendor Support Area