Fast Analysis of Heavy Metals in Contaminated Soils Using Field-Portable X-Ray Fluorescence Technology and Geostatistics

There are many sites within the United States which are contaminated with heavy metals as well as other chemicals. The contaminants on hazardous waste sites must be determined before the remedial investigation/feasibility studies can be completed. In general, samples under investigation must be sent to an approved laboratory for analysis at a cost of approximately US$300 per sample and 21 days turnaround. Field-portable X-ray fluorescence technology provides the remediator with a fast, economical way of screening 100 samples per day on hazardous waste sites for inorganic constituents. If we assume 200 samples for one site are analyzed by traditional methods, the cost is US$60,000. This would easily pay for the field-portable X-ray fluorescence instrument, which can be used for all subsequent sites at substantial savings with realtime data.