Subsurface barrier validation with the SEAtrace{trademark} system

Under contract to the Department of Energy, Science and Engineering Associates has completed development and testing of a subsurface barrier verification and monitoring system. This system, called SEAtrace{trademark}, is able to locate and size leaks with a high degree of accuracy in subsurface barriers that are emplaced in an unsaturated medium. It uses gaseous tracer injection, in-field real-time monitoring, and real time data analysis to evaluate barrier integrity. The approach is: Conservative as it measures vapor leaks in a containment system whose greatest risk is posed by liquid leaks; Applicable to any impermeable type of barrier emplacement technology in the unsaturated zone; Inexpensive as it uses readily available, non-toxic, nonhazardous gaseous tracers, does not require an inordinately large number of sampling points, and injection and sampling points can be emplaced by direct push techniques; Capable of assessing not only a barrier's initial integrity, but can also provide long-term monitoring. To date, six demonstrations of the system have been completed. Results from two of the demonstrations are detailed in this report. They include the final developmental demonstration of the SEAtrace system and a comparison demonstration of two tracer based verification technologies. The final developmental demonstration of SEAtrace was completed at a naval facility in Brunswick, Maine. The demonstration was funded solely by the DOE and was performed in cooperation with the US Navy, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.