If you need vapor intrusion testing assistance as discussed in this article, call us at 973-366-4660 or email us at info@atlenv.com for details and a free estimate.
Written By: Robert E. Sheriff, MS, CSP, CSP, President
February 20, 2020
Vapor Intrusion Testing/Sampling in Buildings
What is Vapor Intrusion?
Vapor intrusion occurs when volatile chemicals lodged in soil or groundwater rise to the surface and are released into the air. This can occur in the open air or into buildings from concrete (which is porous) wells, cracks, or open crawlspace or unpaved basements. Vapor intrusion testing is a method of determining if known or suspected ground contamination is a result in these chemical vapors escaping into the building and are they of such concentration that they can cause short term or long term health effects. If concentrated enough; such as a leak from underground fuel oil, diesel, gasoline tank, chemical spill, contamination from adjacent properties, landfills: they can be so great that they could result in a fire or explosion.
The more common situation is that there are odors in a building that have no identifiable source and tend to be concentrated in the basement or lower levels. Another common situation is that an environmental property assessment (usually referred to as an EPA Phase I Environmental Property Assessment) identifies the potential for soil contamination from a past activity or migration of soil contamination from an adjacent property where spills, leaks, or disposal (legal or illegal) has occurred.
Testing/Sampling
The vapor intrusion testing is not complicated. It involves drilling holes into subsurface soil, attaching a sealed sampling line to a vacuum cylinder and allows the soil gases to be drawn into the vacuum cylinder over an extended period of time (usually 8 hours to 24 hours). The sampling is generally performed in a building where there is a suspicion that odors or seepage is coming from beneath the flooring or slab. The results are then compared with available reference levels such as:
- USEPA Vapor Intrusion Screening Levels (VISLS) https://www.epa.gov/vaporintrusion/vapor-intrusion-screening-levels-visls this list identifies approximately 800 chemicals that were detected at some level in an EPA study and whether they pose a vapor intrusion risk.
- Another useful comparison listing is the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) Generic Vapor Intrusion Screening Levels. This list identifies screening levels of soil gas for Residential and Non-Residential Properties, as well as Indoor Air Screening levels for Residential and Non-Residential Properties. This listing identifies 47 chemicals detected in soils and has set acceptable safe levels for residences and non-residential properties. www.nj.gov/dep/srp/guidance/vaporintrusion/vig_tables.pdf.
- General information on vapor intrusion from the EPA https://www.epa.gov/vaporintrusion
- “Overview of State Approaches to Vapor Intrusion,”
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.406.7446&rep=rep1&type=pdf.
The contracting and consulting team at Atlantic Environmental has the ability to perform vapor intrusion testing/sampling and the ability to determine if it poses a health risk to a building’s occupants. Contact us at info@atlenv.com, call 973-366-4660 or use our online form to learn about our vapor intrusion testing/sampling services.
Our primary service areas are New Jersey NJ, New York NY, (New York City), Pennsylvania PA, Connecticut CT, Delaware DE, Massachusetts, (Boston) MA, Rhode Island RI, Washington DC, Wisconsin WI, Maryland MD, Michigan MI, Illinois (Chicago) IL, Virginia VA, Indiana IN, Georgia (Atlanta) GA, Alabama AL, North Carolina NC, South Carolina SC, Tennessee TN, Texas (Dallas, Ft Worth) TX, Oklahoma OK, DC, Arkansas AR, Florida FL. We can service most other areas of the U.S. but with some added travel charges.