Site Assessment
IT2 offers a range of isotope analysis services to aid in site assessment, including applications for site monitoring, characterization, and developing remediation strategies. Stable isotope analysis can allow for comprehensive contaminant studies, providing information that can be used to: distinguish between sources of contaminants; assess the movements of contaminants; examine the physical processes that alter the amounts, and forms, of various contaminants; and determine the degree to which remediation efforts are altering contaminants of interest.
The range of isotope analyses offered at IT2, including the compound-specific stable isotope methods (CSIA), can provide detailed data that will provide decision-makers with the tools to make informed site assessment solutions. The advantages provided by isotope analysis for assessing the fate and sources of contaminants can be increased by combining the analyses of multiple isotopes within a single molecule. For example, using δ2H, δ13C & δ37Cl analysis in studies of chlorinated solvents, or using δ18O and δ15N for examining nitrate contamination. Multi-isotope approaches greatly improve upon the ability of traditional isotope analysis for source apportionment, by providing an additional dimension for source separation. These approaches increase the sensitivity of isotope analysis for source signature determination and pathway identification.