Future of The Environmental Services Industry

Electronic Chain of Custody and Matching  Bar Code  Sample Bottle Labels.  Arriving Summer 2014! "Innovation comes from people meeting up in the hallways  or calling each other at  10:30  at night with a new idea, or  because they realized something that shoots holes in how  we've   been thinking about a problem" - Steve Jobs In our endless - and I do mean endless - pursuit of improving our application, we have begun work on the "next big thing." We call it our electronic chain of custody (ECOC). I mentioned this concept about a year ago and now we have begun programming work on this new feature. Here's how it works: The project manager defines the project sampling scope, just as they have done in the past. Once the scope is agreed upon by the pertinent parties, the scope will be finalized, and at that point sample bottle labels with unique identifying bar codes can be printed along with an associated  prelimi...

Groundwater Elevation and Contaminant Levels, Correlation, or Causation.    How can you tell? "The obvious is that which is never seen until someone  expresses it simply." -Kahlil Gibran Over the years I've heard a lot of explanations regarding groundwater elevations and subsequent increases and/or decreases in contaminant levels and the presence and disappearance of free product. I've heard people argue that increasing water levels increase contamination, and I've also heard the opposite. Some people believe that increasing water levels causes free product to disappear and that decreasing levels cause it to re-appear (which is counter-intuitive to a lay person). The question or debate is (all other things being equal): does groundwater elevation have an effect on contaminant levels? Furthermore, does groundwater elevation have an effect on the presence or absence of free product? These are a question of correlation or causation. I've been d...

"You can't help but... with 20/20 hindsight, go back and say,   Look, had we done something different, we probably   wouldn't be facing what we are facing today." - Norman Schwarzkopf Selecting a remedial approach can be a complicated task. The process is based on identifying desired clean-up goals, sensitive issues that could affect a remediation strategy (e.g. proximity to drinking water wells, surface waters, other sensitive receptors or public perception/relations), and  costs. Each site presents different decisions and uncertainties regarding remediation options. However, the process of deciding which corrective action to take should be relatively the same at each site. The four main steps are 1) delineation, 2) risk evaluation, 3) feasibility, and 4) cost.  The individual parameters and details of each step will differ for each site, but the process will be the same.The companies that understand the process and also work to keep it simple end up...

  "Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship." -- Benjamin Franklin One of our specialties at SampleServe.com is sampling groundwater. As such, we have used a variety of types of pumps in a multitude of makes and models. In this article I am going to tell you about two 12-volt stainless steel centrifugal pumps I've used and explain why I like one over the other. The two pumps I am reviewing are the  Geotech SS Geosub 12 VDC Sampling Pump  and the  Proactive Stainless Steel Hurricane® XL .  I am not aware of any other makers of "stainless steel" environmental 12-volt pumps sold in the US. There are plastic 12-volt pumps; however, plastic pumps are not part of my evaluation. I've had the opportunity to use both of these pumps at length. I used the Geosub Pump  recently on a  large project in Ohio and sampled approximately 30 - 40 wells with the pump. The pump performed fine without any maintenance or operat...

There Is An App For That   We can't ever forget that the Internet now is just a staid utility. The exciting platforms are software applications that are very, very simple. -  Mark Cuban      I recently attended a meeting related to new technology and new start up businesses.  Although it wasn't exclusively a gathering for software developers, the primary topics  discussed seemed to be in the area of software and "applications" (Apps) people were developing.  I must say it was one of the more interesting meetings I've ever been to.  It was like looking into the future. I felt like I was in a room full of future Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, and truth be told, I probably was. Anyway, what I took away from that meeting was that if you think "Apps" are just a fad and they will eventually be going away, you couldn't be more wrong. As a matter of fact, Apps are going to be creeping into every aspect of our lives. Many of you reading th...

Multi-Parameter Meter Comparison Update - In-Situ SmarTroll   The ultimate promise of technology is to make us master of a world that we command by the push of a button. -Volker Grassmuck Some of you may recall, back in April of 2013 I wrote an article comparing many of the various multi-parameter meters on the market.  You can view that article  here .  Well, at the end of that article, I mentioned my "thoughts and dreams" about what I would like to see in a good multi-meter in the future.  Shortly after that article was posted, I was sent a link to a webpage for a new meter that very closely resembled my "dream machine". The link took me to a webpage by In-Situ.  You can follow that link  here . If you will recall my favorite meter back in April 2013 was the  AquaRead 900 .  I still think it is a good meter and would still recommend it; however, I think the  SmarTroll  is  now my new favorite meter and here i...