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Equinox Minerals operates the biggest copper mine in Africa located at Lumwana in Northwest province Zambia.  Open pit mining methods are used to access the ore which is hauled to the process plant where it is crushed and processed into final concentrate.  Scientists use Sitelab's hand held TD-500D analyzer and test kits to measure hundreds of soil samples contaminated by petroleum hydrocarbons resulting from their mining operations.       

The mine operates a large fleet of equipment, including 27 EH4500 dump trucks, 5 shovels, 4 excavators and more than 100 light vehicles to achieve it's voluminous through put of 20 million tons per year.  This fleet consumes in excess of 1.5 million liters of diesel and 15,000 liters oil per month. As a result, spillage and leakage of diesel and oil at the site is inevitable during storage, refueling, equipment breakdown and equipment servicing

TPH Analysis for New Jersey Brownfield Site:

U.S. EPA Region 2 conducted a pilot study for a Brownfield site in Milltown, New Jersey, as part of the TRIAD program.  The site had a long history of different types of petroleum contamination, including gasoline, heating oil and waste oils.  Sitelab's TD-500 analyzer and TPH-Oil calibration kit were evaluated testing soil samples collected throughout the site.  Results correlated well to split samples sent off-site to a certified laboratory who performed EPA Method 418.1 by Infrared, required by NJ DEP for TPH cleanup. 

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Testing Benzo[a]Pyrene at Bioremediation Facility:

Engineers at King County Department of Transportation in Seattle, Washington, purchased a TD-500 to screen soil samples on-site to help determine if their bioremediation program meets or exceeds the state regulatory cleanup levels for PAHs, specifically Benzo[a]Pyrene, which is estimated using a site-specific response factor.  Their facility, known as the Street Waste Alternative Program or SWAP, manages large volumes (approx. 10,000 to 15,000 cubic yards annually) of material generated from road maintenance operations (catch basin sediment and street sweepings), which are combined, processed and treated through bioremediation processes.  The resultant soils are tested to ensure that any pollutant levels are within acceptable concentrations prior to reuse in on-site low risk applications.

»See how PAH response factors are calculated

PAHs in Creosote at Marina Redevelopment Project:

A developer was excavating a wharf on a lake in upstate New York, which was contaminated with creosote soaked logs and soil.  Creosote contains chrysene, benzo[a]pyrene and many other polyaromatic hydrocarbons that are regulated by NY DEC.  The TD-500 was used to check PAH concentrations in order to help segregate which soils could be reused on-site and which soils had to be trucked away to a costly landfill. 

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TPH in River Sediments at Former MGP Site:

A contractor was cleaning up river sediments contaminated by a former manufactured gas plant (MGP) in Colorado.  Since the early 19th century, these plants converted coal into gas used for lighting and heating.  The residual coal tars and oils produced on these sites contain high concentrations of PAHs and TPH.  Like many MGP sites, this site contained a subsurface plume of DNAPL oil (dense non aqueous phase liquids), which was used to calibrate the TD-500, producing accurate TPH measurement compared to the confirmatory laboratory.

Industrial Applications Testing Parts for Oil Residue:

A manufacturer in the medical industry coats it's stainless steel parts with lubricating oil after the manufacturing process to prevent the parts from corroding.  The parts must be free of oil prior to use.  Sitelab helped the client develop a quick and reliable test method, using the TD-500 for quality control purposes, by testing parts rinsed in solvent.  Many samples of different oils were sent to Sitelab to see which oils fluoresced the most and which ones produced the lowest detection limits (in low part per billion levels).