Environmental test question

[RIP - VTEnviro]

New photo of the day. Tell me what's wrong with this observation well that's supposed to be monitoring leachate levels in a septic field.

 

[Guest]

New photo of the day. Tell me what's wrong with this observation well that's supposed to be monitoring leachate levels in a septic field.

I can't see it the posted image, hence that appears to be a good start

JR

 

[Dleg]

Ummm, there's no well? It's just a hole in the ground that they dug out today, for the inspection? (I was expecting a PVC pipe and cap).

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

This is a client of ours. They run a residential development that's connected to this leach field. The field is failing, and they're on the hook to monitor it until they get a public sewer installed.

They were to monitor leachate levels a couple times a week and report it to the state. Of course, they were always "dry". The state inspected the site one time and found this. You had an official looking PVC standpipe with cap sticking out of the ground. However, it was just for show as you can see here. The holes were a few inches deep.

The state was pissed. They made them install new wells based on a design prepared by an engineer and approved by them. They also made a PE (as opposed to your company's general field tech) inspect the installation and report on it to the state.

 

[Guest]

New photo of the day. Tell me what's wrong with this observation well that's supposed to be monitoring leachate levels in a septic field.

VT --

I can see the picture from home, but not from work. Got it now.

JR

 

[Dleg]

That's hilarious.

:rotflmao

I'd be pissed too if I was the state inspector.

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

To make matters worse, the client was doubly pissed when he screwed up what type of work needed to be done and somehow mixed up "monitoring wells" with "test pits".

The contractor was prepared for the wrong type of work. I bet the client loved paying for his entire day, my entire day, and my mileage for a 240 mile round trip commute. :true:

 

[Guest]

I don't have any nifty field visit photos to share these days :sniff:

I have been reassigned to Operation Paper Cut :rotfl: :rotfl:

After seeing these photographs, I think I need to arrage a few facility visits in December h43r: h43r: :GotPics:

JR

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

I had a field visit with the state fish and wildlife guy on Friday. He's concerned because we are going to have the discharge from our stormwater pond going to a deer wintering yard. He had some concerns over that. My first thought was, "deer like water too."

I found out his issues were how many trees would need to come out, and what kind of visual screening would be in place. He wanted us to put a bend in our discharge line so that there would not be a direct line of sight between the deer and anyone at the pond. Does he really think there will be tons of folks just hanging out by a SW pond?

All in all, he was pretty reasonable. The really fun part was the fact that it was absoultely pouring the whole time. Let's hear it for it for head to toe rain gear!

 

[Guest]

I have a Regulator-Industry workshop I will be attending next week in Sarasota. I even get to present a topic While I am down in that part of the state, I decided to swing over to the east coast of FL to make some facility visits. Maybe I can get some pictures :GotPics:

Fish and game folks are a different breed. I had a situation at one of my sites where 1,4-dioxane appeared to be migrating off-site, into a wildlife management area. The 1,4-dioxane was present approximated 80 ft bls. The concern - Red Cockaded Woodpeckers. :true:

Everything turned out okay - no woodpeckers were harmed. :+1:

JR

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

I learned the hard way these F&W guys are serious about this stuff. Very early in my engineering life, like 6 months out of college, I was at a site meeting with my boss and some guys from the state regarding a culvert we wanted to replace in a wetland/stream area.

One of the things they asked for was a separate, 18" diameter, lightly colored "critter crossing" for box turtles that supposedly inhabit the area. We got a real laugh out of it until we learned he was for real. :true:

 

[Dleg]

I had a great field day yesterday. I spent 5 hours on the tailgate of my truck waiting for the Mayor of Saipan's heavy equipment crew to show up and clear some land where we are going to be installing passive soil gas probes with EPA this week. Every 30 minutes or so we would get a phone call "we'll be there in 30 minutes" until finally we didn't get any more phone calls. Oh well, maybe today.

But we didn't totally waste our time. We wandered off into the jungle on the other side of the clearing site and found a WWII Japanese air raid shelter carved into the limestone on the inner edge of a sinkhole that was partially filled with rusted out 55-gallon drums. There was a freshly dead chicken near the drums too. And, the drums had obvioulsy "bulged" before they rusted out. Do you think I should have been concerned?

(look at me during last week's hazmat safety refresher course!)

 

[frazil]

I especially like the hazmat suit and flip flops combo! :lmao:

 

[Dleg]

Yeah, me too! (didn't have enough booties for the class)

 

[cement]

found a WWII Japanese air raid shelter carved into the limestone on the inner edge of a sinkhole that was partially filled with rusted out 55-gallon drums.  There was a freshly dead chicken near the drums too.  And, the drums had obvioulsy "bulged" before they rusted out.  Do you think I should have been concerned?

I would have used a teriaki or perhaps a lemon pepper before grilling and it would be fine. but then I'm from Jersey...

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

^ no, no. A maple-habanero rub. But then I'm from Vermont...

 

[cement]

wouldn't the sugar in the maple char early? you would not want your toxic waste marinated chicken done rare.

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

No if you only use a little in rou marinade you get the flavor without the burnt sugar problem. You don't just slather it on with a paint brush.

And as for the chicken being rare, I'm sure all the PCB and TCE in the toxic waste would kill the salmonella, so no worries!

 

[cement]

along the lines of a seared ahi. another island delicacy! we will be sure to serve that at the continuing education seminar opening banquet. or maybe it should wait until the closing luncheon...

 

[Dleg]

We do have something called chicken kelaguen here, which technically is not "cooked" but instead chemically cooked in a very acidic solution of vinegar and lemon, and then mixed with coconut, onion, hot peppers, and a few other spices. There's also deer kelaguen and beef kelaguen too. But most of the time, the chicken is cooked beforehand because people are afraid of food poisoning. I'm sure we could eliminate that concern with the proper solution of TCE, toluene and PCBs. Is it still food poisoning if it doesn't kick in for 15 years? :whatever:

The chicken had been thoroughly eaten when we returned the next day, by the way. Plus, I'm still alive and my genitals haven't fallen off, so I guess it wasn't too toxic. :???: