Overview
An active rail yard located in Edmonton, Alberta had been operating for years (and continues) prior to an intrusive environmental investigation being completed. After multiple rounds of traditional site investigations, significant data gaps remained in the vertical and horizontal delineation of light non-aqueous phase liquid (LNAPL) impacts across multiple potential source areas on-Site. Delineation work was to be completed during rail yard active hours of operation with little to no disruption to on-Site activities.
Scope of Work
Vertex mobilized High Resolution Site Characterization (HRSC) tools to the site for rapid and detailed in-situ delineation. The laser induced fluorescence (LIF) was deployed to delineate the horizontal and vertical extents of the LNAPL plume in the subsurface across multiple areas on-Site. The LIF was able to determine that the bulk of the LNAPL plumes were located very close to the historical point sources with some larger (wide spread) LNAPL impacts. The LIF data was able to help identify areas where more focused confirmatory investigation and remediation activities should be applied.
The Vertex Approach
The LIF was deployed to the Site for seven (7) days to delineate LNAPL impacts in the subsurface across seven (7) different areas of the Site. Vertex was able to profile 121 unique locations for a total of 654 vertical meters with the LIF, averaging over 90 vertical meters of detailed profiling at the Site per day without any disruption to ongoing Site operations. The results from the LIF survey revealed that the historic LNAPL plumes were isolated. The data is being used to develop a detailed remedial action plan for the Site.