United States Environmental Protection Agency Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response Publication 9380.1-15FS PB94-963510 EPA 540/F94/057 December 1992 Wood Treating Sites: Analysis of PCP and Creosote Using On Site Mobile High Hazard Laboratory Office of Emergency and Remedial Response Emergency Response Division Environmental Response Branch MS-101 Quick Reference Fact Sheet Introduction Laboratory Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) methods are normally employed to determine pentachlorophenol (PCP) and creosote contaminant levels in soil samples from hazardous waste sites. Turnaround time associated with off-site analysis is often too slow to allow efficient utilization of the data. However, laboratory GC/MS methods can be modified for field (on-site) use to provide timely results while maintaining high data quality. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Environ- mental Response Team (U.S. EPA/ERT), through its Re- sponse Engineering and Analytical Contract (REAC), has developed field GC/MS methods to provide timely, reli- able, and cost-effective PCP and creosote analyses needed by site managers to guide remediation and removal activi- ties. U.S. EPA/ERT Field Analytical Methods for PCP/Creosote Gas Chromatography/Flame lonization Detector (GC/FID) methods have been used to screen and analyze PCP and creosote contamination in soils with 5 percent confirma- tion by GC/MS methods, which offer good overall sensi- tivity and positive identification for specific compounds. Field (on-site) GC/MS methods developed by the U.S. EPA/ERT provide quick turnaround of results while incor- porating rigorous Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) procedures to ensure reliability of the analytical data. These methods provide shortened extraction times while maintaining good detectability (5 mg/kg detection limit for each compound). The soil sample is spiked with a surrogate solution, mixed with anhydrous sodium sulfate, and extracted with acetone/methylene chloride. Prior to analysis, the sample is spiked with an internal standard mix. Samples which contain noticeably high concentra- tions of creosote are diluted before analysis. Calibration is checked daily by analyzing a 5.0 mg/kg standard solution; typical agreement is ± 15 percent (± 0.75 mg/kg) for all compounds. On-Site PCP and Creosote Sample Analysis The Escambia Treating Company operated four wood treating facilities located in Pensacola, Florida; Brook- haven, Mississippi; Camilla, Georgia; and Brunswick, Georgia. Wooden telephone poles and foundation pilings were manufactured and treated at these facilities from the 1940s until they were closed between 1982 and 1991. Poor handling practices in the treating facilities resulted in PCP and creosote contamination of soil throughout each site. Site samples also contained highly toxic dioxin waste material which required specialized handling procedures. Therefore, an on-site high-hazard laboratory was estab- lished in May, 1991 at the Brunswick site to provide fast turnaround on PCP and creosote analyses for dioxin con- taminated samples. Over 1,000 samples were analyzed with GC/FID systems in operation since the laboratory was mobilized in 1991. GC/FID was replaced by GC/MS in March, 1992 and a GC/MS method was established which provides 24-hour turnaround for analyses of 15-20 samples per day. Since March 1992, over 700 samples have been analyzed by the GC/MS field method. Conclusions The utilization of field-modified GC/MS methods has proven to be an effective approach to meet contaminant analysis needs at wood treating hazardous waste sites. High quality results are achieved with quick turnaround using field-proven methodologies while incorporating rig- orous QA/QC procedures. On-going operations at the Brunswick High-Hazard field laboratory continue to pro- vide fast, cost-effective PCP and creosote analyses for characterization and remediation at several hazardous waste sites. For further information, please contact: Raj Singhvi (908) 321-6761 (908) 321-6660 (24-hour hotline) U.S. EPA/ERT ------- |