Environmental Engineer:
Applied Research and Practice

Application of the Membrane Interface Probe (MIP) to Delineate Subsurface DNAPL Contamination

Authors: Michael Ravella, R. Joseph Fiacco, Jr., Jeffrey Frazier, Duane Wanty, and Louis Burkhardt

Abstract

Definition of source and plume architecture at heterogeneous and homogeneous dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) sites is highly complex and requires a detailed characterization approach. The membrane interface probe (MIP) can be used at many sites to perform cost-effective, detailed investigations. The MIP is a commercially available tool that has been described by the manufacturer as a semi-quantitative tool, by others as a quantitative tool, and yet others as a qualitative tool. A variety of methods have been used in an attempt to establish correlations between MIP data and environmental media concentration data. Application of a spatial correlation approach at two sites resulted in the development of semi-quantitative relationships between MIP data and environmental media concentration data, which were used to define volumes of impacted media that exceed applicable regulatory thresholds.

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