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Burge Environmental
Universal Platform
 There is a requirement for a "universal" sampling/analytical platform
for the deployment of sensor technologies. The factors limiting field
deployable long-term monitoring systems are only partially solved by the
creation of new sensors. A long-term monitoring system is an analytical
instrument and the rules for the design and operation of such
instrumentation are not greatly impacted by the type of sensor employed
within the instrument. Although standardized methods for the field
deployment of sensors is required to allow for testing and deploying
various types of sensors.
A primary criterion in the design and fabrication of the long-term
monitoring system is the ability to perform some level of calibration
and quality control checks. Regulatory approval is a necessary
requirement for a long-term monitoring system to maximize anticipated
cost savings and other benefits of automated monitoring of environmental
contaminants.
Background
Hexavalent chromium Cr(VI) is a contaminant in the Columbia River near
Hanford Washington. Cr(VI) is toxic to aquatic organisms and as such
monitoring the concentration of this contaminant is of special concern
for its potential impact on the salmon spawning grounds. A weakness in
current monitoring capabilities is obtaining sufficiently frequent Cr(VI)
measurements to characterize the temporal changes that occur in the
sediment pore water. These changes occur as a consequence of daily,
weekly and seasonal cycles in river discharge. This field deployable,
automated Cr(VI) measurement system will be deployed during the summer
of 2004 and offers a means to fully characterize the conditions in this
sensitive aquatic habitat.
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