VAPOR INTRUSION ANALYSIS

Vapor Intrusion

Vapor Intrusion is the transport of organic vapors from the soil or groundwater into the indoor air environment.  In 2001 EPA issued a Guidance Document called "Draft Guidance for Evaluating the Vapor Intrusion to Indoor Air Pathway from Groundwater and Soils". This document can be viewed and printed from the EPA Web Site.  This document provided guidance on evaluating the effects of vapor intrusion on the indoor air environment and associated risk to human health.

EAS Technical Experience with Vapor Intrusion Testing

EAS has been conducting indoor air testing for the purpose of determining the impact of organic compounds in the soil and water on the indoor air since 1985.  Dr. Steve Hoyt in conjunction with Professor Rasmussen developed a GC/MS SIM (selected ion Monitoring) method for measuring a series of VOC's at the 0.003 to 0.010 ppbv level back in the early 1980's.  This method was applied by EAS to the early vapor intrusion work involving flux chambers and indoor air samples that required extremely low MDL's in order to provide data for health risk assessments.  Since that time EAS has run thousands of flux chamber samples, ambient air samples, and soil vapor samples for the evaluation of vapor intrusion, and developed a combined TO-15 full scan - SIM analysis that has been widely copied.   EAS has also developed a method the doing forensic analysis of low level hydrocarbons samples to identify potential sources of the organic compounds impacting the indoor environment.

Analytical Services related to Vapor Intrusion

EAS is equipped to provide all of the sampling equipment and tests to conduct a successful vapor intrusion program.  From DTSC soil gas samplers, to individually certified canisters and flow regulators, EAS insures that the data you collect will be reliable and defensible. EAS maintains a large inventory of flow regulators and canisters and can provide individually certified flow regulators and canisters specifically tailored to your project needs in a matter of a few days.  Some of the analytical services used for vapor intrusion are listed below.  A complete list of tests that can be used for vapor intrusion analysis can be found under ambient air analysis or soil gas analysis.