A rapid screening technique for analysis of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC's) in groundwater and soil

This paper describes a rapid method for screening groundwater and soil samples for Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC’s) using a portable gas chromatograph. Typical levels of detection achieved are less than 1 μ gL -1 for waters and 2 mgkg -1 for soils. A number of compounds including benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene and some commonly occurring chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons are readily detected. The method may be used as a preliminary screening technique or limit test for detection of positives and location of hot spots in groundwater and soil contamination investigations. The main advantage of the method is that samples in which VOC’s are not detected in the field need not be sent for laboratory analysis resulting in substantial cost savings.