ESC combines the best innovative characterization technologies with standard soil and groundwater sampling to arrive at a deeper understanding of site hydrogeology and contamination. During an ESC investigation, a team of senior environmental professionals converges on a site. Non-invasive measurements, like electromagnetic and geophysical surveys, precede invasive techniques, like soil borings or well installations. Team members analyze data and immediately integrate results into field work. The team also develops a conceptual model of the site to predict measurements formally.
Analysis ensures the plan stays within regulator-approved bounds.
The result is a fast, cost-efficient, and scientifically thorough investigation that focuses on those issues critical to DOE and its stakeholders. Driller Doyle Littrel of Water Development Corporation is in the background. Using ESC, Argonne determined that the Pantex perched aquifer was an ancient river channel with banks that divide it into near-independent regions. This understanding will enable DOE to focus its remediation efforts on the most serious contamination first. Pantex site characterization will be completed this year, more than a year ahead of the original planned completion date.