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4
Kaizen
Lab
Kaizen Lab
Soil Salinity
Soil salinity is the build-up of mineral salts on the soil surface. In Alberta, salts occur naturally in
many bedrock deposits and in some deposits that lie on top of the bedrock. Groundwater flowing
through these deposits dissolves and transports the salts. Under certain conditions, this groundwater rises to the soil surface where the water evaporates and leaves the salts behind.
Over time, the salts accumulate on the soil surface. A white salt crust forms where the concentration is very high. Only salt-tolerant plants grow in this visibly saline area. The land around it will
also have saline subsoil. High salt concentrations in the soil prevent the uptake of water and essential nutrients by plant roots. This, in turn, restricts plant growth and reduces crop yields.
Soil salinity can be measured by electrical conductivity (EC), a measurement of the ability of a solution to carry an electric current and is the reciprocal of resistivity. The ability depends on the
presence of ions, their concentration, mobility, valence and on the temperature of measurement.
Solutions of most inorganic compounds are relatively good conductors. Thus, electrical conductivity of a soil extract is a measure of the amount of dissolved solids in the solution. The more salts in
the soil sample, the greater its EC. Measurements are expressed in milliSiemens per centimeter.
Saline soils are one type of salt-affected soil. The other two types are sodic soils, which are affected by too much sodium, and saline-sodic soils, which are affected by an excess of both soluble
salts and sodium. The determination of major ions is desirable to characterize a soil. The soil is
extracted with water (saturated paste extraction) and the ions are measured using an Inductively
Coupled Plasma (ICP) Spectrometer for major cations (calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium), and an Ion Chromatograph for major anions (chloride and sulphate).
References:www1.agric.gov.ca, Agriculture, Food and Rural Development
www.abheritage.ca, Resource Inventory, Alberta’s Natural Resources
Lab Contact Information
O C T O B E R
UP-COMING
EVENTS
• Oct 11-13, 2006
Remediation Technologies Symposium
(RemTechtm 2006) in
Banff
• Oct 20-21, 2006 Alberta Lake Management Society Workshop and Conference
in Lethbridge
• Feb 25-27, 2007 Canadian National Wastewater Management
Conference in Edmonton
• March 13-16, 2007
Alberta Water &
Wastewater Operators Association
Seminar in Banff
Analytical Division Manager, Dr. Koshy Malayil: 403-297-0412
• Email: [email protected]
Marketing, Jayce Nagie:
• Email: [email protected]
403-297-0670
Customer Services, Brenda
• Email: [email protected]
• Fax:
• Toll Free:
• Emergency or After Hours:
403-297-0868
2 0 0 6
CCME Petroleum Hydrocarbons
In 2001, Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) has approved and implemented a Canada-wide standardized method for the identification and quantification of Petroleum Hydrocarbons (PHC) in soil. Analytical laboratories are required to conduct hydrocarbon
analysis of soil samples that support Record of Site Conditions (RSC) using the Reference
Tier 1 Method. The method states that four hydrocarbon fractions F1-F4 are to be determined
analytically. The F1 fraction consists of volatile hydrocarbons with carbon chain length ranging
from C6 to C10. The F2 and F3 fractions include hydrocarbons with C10-C16 and C16-C34
carbon atoms, respectively. Aromatic hydrocarbons, some of which are highly carcinogenic,
such as BTEX (Benzene, Toluene, Ethyl benzene, and Xylene) and PAHs (Polycyclic Aromatic
Hydrocarbons) are to be analyzed and reported separately from other constituents of F1-F3
fractions. BTEX is proven to be associated with gasoline whereas PAHs are found in sources
such as crude oil, tar oils, creosote and flare pits. The F4 fraction includes hydrocarbons with
C34-C50 carbon atoms. Typical components of this fraction are motor oil and lubricating oils.
The presence of hydrocarbons with more than C50
carbons (i.e. heavy lubricating oil and asphaltenes) is
signalled to the analyst when the chromatogram does
not return to baseline after C50 is eluted. In such a
case a gravimetric analysis F4G will be carried out.
Kaizen Lab is routinely carrying out analysis of soil
and water samples utilizing state of the art instrumentation following the CCME PHC nationally standardized method.
From the Desk of the Lab Manager
403-297-0869
1-888-525-5902
403-998-6541
Shipping and Receiving, Laureen:
• Email: [email protected]
• Sampling Supplies/COC ordering
403-297-0699
Kaizen Lab, Grande Prairie
780-538-0972
INSIDE THIS
ISSUE:
Ground Water 2
Contamination
Soil Texture
3
Points to
Ponder
3
Soil Salinity
4
Contact
Information
4
We are in to the fall season already!. Kaizen Lab had a very busy summer this year. The Lab
has always been praised for the excellent service and we are trying to keep that up. Kaizen Lab
now offers a three day turnaround time for some of the services and our on-line data reporting
system is helping our clients for easy access to lab reports. We will continue working closely
with the clients offering a very personalized service.
We are now open on Saturdays for receiving samples and sending supplies and have a 24 hour
contact number (403-998-6541) where our clients can call at any time for sample drop of and
getting proper attention to the samples.
We have added a Shimadzu Total Organic Carbon Analyzer to our instrumentation. There will
be more GCs added soon in our Organic Division in order to handle the volume of hydrocarbon
and coal-bed methane gas analysis samples.
Kaizen Lab is growing every day and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our clients
for the tremendous support.
Koshy Malayil Ph.D P.Chem
PAGE
VOLUME
2
1,
ISSUE
Contamination of groundwater systems occurs when constituents such as gasoline, oil, road
salts and other chemicals enter the groundwater, making it unsafe for human consumption.
Some of the major sources of these contaminants are oil field activities, septic tanks, agricultural run-off, landfills and sludge applications. The following table shows the common contamination evidences, causes and prevention for these sources of groundwater contamination.
Reference:
http://www.groundwater.org/gi/sourcesofgwcontam.html
http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/naturalresources/DD5866.html
contamination
are oil field
activities,
agricultural
run-off,
Causes of Contamination
Prevention
Septic Tanks
-Detection of excessive
bacteria, chemicals in well
water tests
-Poor installation
- Disposal of household
chemicals
-Overloading
Pesticides from
Agricultural runoff
-Detection of Pesticides in
well water tests.
-Excessive or ill timed
application
-Improper storage
-Leaching through soil
-Improper disposal
-Proper installation
-Inspection
-Proper disposal of household chemicals
-develop local septic system codes
-Follow use instructions
-Reduce pesticide use in
recharge areas for wells
-Encourage alternative
pest control methods
Landfills
-Observed leachate runoff
-Seepage into nearby surface water
-High levels of bacteria,
organic chemicals, metals,
nitrates in well water tests.
-Lack of leachate movement control
-Permeable soil
-Leaky landfill covers
-Liner failures
-Poor management
-Proper design
-Avoid sensitive groundwater areas
-Regular inspection
-Ban hazardous waste
disposal
Sludge
Applications
-High bacteria, nitrate levels in well water tests
-Improper application
-Application on improper
soils.
-Compliance with permit
requirements
landfills and
sludge
applications”
on the texture of
soil is important in
permeability of
Contamination Evidence
septic tanks,
“The information
determining the
Source
sources of
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3
Soil Texture
Ground Water Contamination
“Major
3
soil in applications
Kaizen Lab
had a
opportunity to
work with Mike
Vernon of CBC
Television
News for his
article on
water
contamination
such as sizing a
Soil texture is determined by the relative proportion of sand,
silt and clay found in a given soil. The term "texture" refers
to the size of the individual soil particles and has nothing to
do with the amount of organic matter present in the soil. The
information on the texture of soil is important in determining
the permeability of soil in applications such as sizing a septic
field. The texture information is used to calculate the septic
field loading rates. The following Table illustrates the various
textural classes.
Reference:WWW.GARDENMOSAICS.ORG
Alberta Private Sewage Systems Standard of Practice Hand Book Alberta
septic field”
Points To Ponder
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•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
How come you never hear about gruntled employees?
If quitters never win, and winners never quit, what fool came up with, "Quit while you're
ahead"?
Do Lipton employees take coffee breaks?
What hair color do they put on the driver's licenses of bald men?
What WAS the best thing before sliced bread?
How do those dead bugs get into those enclosed light fixtures?
Before they invented drawing boards, what did they go back to?
If the #2 pencil is the most popular, why is it still #2?
What is a "free" gift? Aren't all gifts free?
Is there another word for synonym?
Why is the word abbreviation so long?
Why isn't phonetic spelled the way it sounds?