Field Services Core
Function Facilities Techniques
Staffing Administration Justification
Function . The Field Services Core (FSC) will provide Superfund investigators with access to relevant complex environmental mixtures. These will include samples from existing Superfund sites, samples from sites undergoing remediation, and environmental samples from three study areas for the purpose of conducting monitoring and modeling. The primary goal of the FSC will be to provide staff and students training and experience in sampling methodologies at contaminated environments. The Field Services Core will also provide QA/QC assistance and model compounds to investigators. The primary objectives of the Field Services Core are:
1. To facilitate the collection of environmentally relevant data for monitoring and modeling (Projects 6 and 7); and, to identify major Contaminants of Concern (CoCs) for analysis in basic toxicological studies;
2. To provide an appropriate field setting for scale-up trials of remedial techniques identified as effective in laboratory studies (Projects 5 and 6);
3. To obtain complex environmental mixtures from field sites for extraction, fractionation and analysis in biological tests (Projects 1 through 4);
4. To provide QA/QC support for all projects within the SBRP.
Facilities. The two major functions of the Field Services Core are to provide a link between the basic laboratory studies and applied research at Superfund sites; and, to provide the SBRP Research Projects access to equipment and trained personnel for the collection of environmental samples. The Field Services Core will maintain all equipment required for collection and extraction of field samples from contaminated areas. Relevant equipment includes safety equipment, sampling equipment and appropriate containers. Sampling equipment maintained by the FSC will include soil augers, stainless steel trowels, pond samplers (with a 4m extension), and HiVolume air samplers. In addition, the Field Services Core employs personnel trained and experienced in the logistics and Quality Assurance required to conduct field work of this nature. Environmental media which may be sampled will include soil, surface water, ground water, solid waste, sediment, plant tissues, wildlife, household dust, air particulate and a variety of solid matrixes prior to and after treatment. The Field Services Core has equipment and experience necessary to ship materials to distant sites, collect samples, and return the samples to the laboratory. Samples received at the laboratory will be stored in a walk-in cold room and extracted, concentrated, or fractionated using appropriate techniques.
Techniques. The procedures to be utilized for the collection of environmental media will follow EPA (1998) standard methods. Field sampling will be performed by a team of at least three individuals, each having received the required 40 hour HAZWOPER training and annual refresher. A log book will be maintained to record all pertinent information to describe the methods and nature of any samples collected. This will include both contaminated environmental media, wildlife tissues, as well as samples treated using remedial techniques developed as part of Projects 5 or 6. Special requirements (i.e., groundwater treatment using organoclays developed in Project 5) for sampling will be established in the laboratory prior to field collection. ...more Field studies for investigating remedial techniques will be prepared in replicates as determined by the Statistics Core. Environmental media will be extracted using standard EPA (1998) methods using hexane:acetone in a Soxtec extractor. In year 2, it is anticipated that an Accelerated Solvent Extraction (ASE) unit will be obtained in conjuntion with the Center for Environmental & Rural Health. This unit will be combined with the existing Dionex Flash Evaporator to improve extraction efficiency and reduce the cost and solvent usage. A schematic of the relationship of the FSC with the other Research Projects and Cores of the Texas A&M SBRP is provided in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Interaction of the Field Services Core with Research Projects and Facility Cores of the TAMU SBRP.
A detailed sampling plan will be prepared prior to the initiation of the general environmental and subject specific sampling in Azerbaijan and Texas. This sampling plan will detail methodology, Standard Operating Procedures for sample collection, and a schedule for sample collection. The preparation of a sampling plan will be conducted in consultation with both the Statistics Core and Dr. Sever (PI – Project 7). Initial sampling will focus on a general monitoring of environments in and around the study areas. In the second year, households of case and control subjects identified in the prospective study will be sampled; while in years 3 and 4, subject sampling will continue, along with a limited collection of wildlife in selected areas for validation of exposure models.
Staffing (Professional and Support). The Field Services Core will maintain a staff to include a Research Chemist (Dr. L. He), a Research Associate (A. Bokelman) and a Technician II (B. Latham). Ms. Bokelman and Mr. Latham have both received the necessary HAZWOPER training and will be available to assist graduate students in field work. Both of these individuals have experience collecting field samples. Dr. He will be responsible for sample extraction and fractionation, as well as preparation of samples for biological or chemical analysis. Dr. He has worked with the SBRP at Texas A&M for the past 9 years and has been involved in the development of SOPs for sample preparation and extraction, as well as a modified procedure for preparatory-scale use of the HPLC for the collection of isolated fractions from complex PAH mixtures.
Administration. The Field Services Core will be directly administered by Dr. Donnelly for the Superfund Program. Decisions related to the organization and oversight of core activities will be developed with the project investigators in collaboration with Dr. Donnelly, and Drs. He (extraction) and McDonald (analysis). Issues related to the collection and extraction of field samples and the general operation of the core will be discussed at periodic meetings of the PIs and at the meetings of the internal review committee. Dr. Donnelly has conducted over 100 sampling trips to hazardous waste sites, has been a consultant to the USEPA on sampling and QA/QC for field studies, and collected an initial round of environmental samples from Baku and Sumgayit, Azerbaijan in January of 1999.
Justification. A critical component of this program project is provide access to field sites. The Field Services Core provides environmentally relevant mixtures for analysis in the basic toxicological studies; while allowing remedial studies (Projects 5 and 6) access to field sites for scale-up testing; and, providing the Modeling (Project 6) and Population (Project 7) studies data from which to assess potential exposures and tissue levels in wildlife. The most significant effort conducted by the members of this facility will be the environmental and subject specific sampling to be conducted in conjunction with Project 6. The data from this effort will be used to calibrate exposure models and to identify appropriate doses for testing in the toxicity studies (Projects 1 – 4). This core is needed to provide a well-trained and equipped program from which to access Superfund sites and other contaminated areas.