How Does Testing Wells Work for Hazardous Materials?
Did you know that the Hazardous Waste Treatment market is projected to value $49.4 billion by 2028? Do you know the importance of testing wells at hazardous waste sites?
Hazardous waste isn’t always disposed of properly, which results in contaminated well water. Testing wells for organics, PCBs, and heavy metals is an important step that shouldn’t be ignored.
If you aren’t sure how testing wells for pesticides works, you’ve come to the right place. We will tell you everything you need to know about how it works and why you should regularly test your well for heavy metals.
Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facilities
There are three phases in which each hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facility has to go through to stay compliant with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. These steps aim to ensure public safety and protect the environment. Each facility has good wells and must be placed in the proper areas.
Each facility creates its monitoring plan based on its site’s characteristics. They are also required to implement and maintain the program.
Detection Monitoring
If any hazardous waste has been released, this is the phase where the facility will find it. Each facility has a list of required waste constituents they must test for, which is put in place by the EPA Regional Administrator. There are a few different ways you, as an owner, can analyze the sample.
- Control chart approach
- Tolerance or prediction interval procedure
- Parametric analysis of variance
- Nonparametric analysis of variance based on ranks
Compliance Monitoring
This step helps determine if the waste found is dangerous for human health and the environment. If a statistically significant increase (SSI) is found, a facility must send in a permit application to switch from detection monitoring to compliance monitoring.
A groundwater protection standard (GWPS) is created, and the samples are taken and compared to it. The EPA Regional Administrator determines how often testing wells for organics must be done in the permit.
If the levels of the waste are higher than GWPS, the owner or manager must notify the EPA Regional Administrator within seven days and apply to move to the corrective stage.
Corrective Action
At this stage, the facility must make a plan to remove or bring down the levels of radon or heavy metals. The plan must be approved, and a specific time must be listed.
The facility must continue the plan until they reach the GWPS. To go back to compliance monitoring, a facility’s waste levels must be below the standard for three years.
Testing Wells for Organics
Staying in compliance with your facilities permits is necessary. Testing wells for organics is crucial, and disposing of harmful materials can make all the difference in the public’s health and safety.
If you haven’t had your well tested recently, contact Atlantic Environmental. We’ve helped hundreds of people in the private and public sectors, and we can help you too.
Our services cover NY, NJ, PA, CT, DE, MD, GA and VA.