Zimmerman, J.H., C. Lutes, B. Cosky, B. Schumacher, D. Salkie, and R. Truesdale.
Soil and Sediment Contamination: An International Journal 26(3):294-307(2017)
Filed Under: Research
Filed Under: Research
In an investigation of the performance of permanent versus temporary sub-slab sampling ports (SSPs) for vapor intrusion (VI) determination in an unoccupied house, VOC and radon concentrations measured simultaneously in soil gas using collocated temporary and permanent ports appeared to be independent of the type of port. Variability between collocated temporary and permanent ports was much less than the spatial variability between port locations. The agreement of the majority of VOC and radon concentrations—0-36% relative percent difference and 2-19% relative standard deviation, respectively—of each SSP type was achieved even though the clay portion of the seal of the temporary ports was visibly desiccated and cracked. The temporary SSP desiccation and cracking were not as detrimental to port seal performance as would have been expected, which suggests that the Teflon tape portion of the seals served an important function. The temporary sub-slab sampling ports provided data equivalent to that collected from a permanent sub-slab sampling port; however, only one type of seal material was tested in one location; the seals were installed by experts with rigorous quality control; and thus, these results may not apply to all types of temporary seals and all building foundations.