WorldWide Drilling Resource

Environmental Monitoring by Thomas Kwader, Ph.D., PG Environmental Monitoring ~ Why is it still Important? Believe it or not, I have been writing a monthly article on environmental monitoring for almost 40 years (this is the 15th year for WWDR ). Is “Environmental Monitoring” still an important subject? To answer the question, we must first define what it is. One of EPA’s (Environmental Protection Agency’s) first responsibilities in the 1970s, was to take inventory of pits, ponds, and lagoons storing var- ious wastewaters across the USA. This requirement came about because of contamination which occurred due to alleged buried waste leaking from drums into surrounding soil and groundwater, which ultimately affected local water supplies and people exposed to contaminated soils. At the time, there was not a nationwide database available to locate these potential contamination sources. The fact was, very few records were available documenting the types, concentrations, and volume of waste materials buried underground. Many dump sites were off-site or belonged to companies which were out of business for many years, or no records existed of these former burial sites. The EPA compiled records for many pits, ponds, and lagoons - and is still doc- umenting “new” dump sites. Once these sites are identified, shallow groundwater monitoring wells around the dump are required, a minimum of three downgra- dient and one upgradient to assess the type of compounds present in the shal- low groundwater and at what concentra- tion. Also, at the same time, maximum concentration levels of the various com- pounds were being established to iden- tify areas where groundwater was to be contained and remediated. The EPA had a huge undertaking to identify which groundwater had to be cleaned up and to what level for literally hundreds of organic and inorganic compounds. Although the monitoring and clean- up of even a small site is expensive and time-consuming, it is still a top priority to cleanup al l impacted groundwater. Environmental monitoring is still needed to access the areal and vertical extent of all groundwater plumes, and to delin- eate the concentration and shape of the plumes. Although there has been pro- posals to cut back the spending on monitoring, the importance will always remain a top priority to protect human health and the environment. Tom Tom Kwader may be contacted via e-mail to michele@ worldwidedrillingresource.com Commit yourself to being out in front of the curve so you don’t find yourself behind it. ~ Marilyn Puder-York 47 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® FEBRUARY 2018