Considering an Environmental Lab in Alberta for Air Testing by TD Tube? Here’s Why You Should Try It!

Posted on June 29, 2022

We know something you might not, and we’re not one to keep secrets!  It’s no secret that new technologies and advancements are always happening all around us – which brings us to our secret: TD Tubes in soil vapour investigations. Although the concept isn’t brand new, it is new to a lot of our clients in Alberta. CARO’s environmental lab in Alberta is pushing the industry standards and creating the new ‘norm’ for the future.

This is not just another trend or fad that will fade; TD tubes are here to stay and will be the industry standard for environmental labs in Alberta before you know it.  Ditch the Summa Canister from 1965 and start testing with TD Tubes in Alberta today!

Don’t believe us?

You don’t have to take our word for it – check out what one of your peers had to say about using this technology for environmental testing in Alberta.  Thank you to Jake from Langan International (LLC),  for giving us his take on the process!

1. What is the type/nature of the project you are using TD for?

Our project was a soil vapour study designed to evaluate seasonal effects on vapour migration and discharge for a risk assessment.

2. What was it like working with TD tubes over, say, Sumas?

For organic parameters, working with TD over Sumas was easy. The sampling time was quick, it required less equipment, and the shipping process was more straightforward – the overall process felt simple and streamlined.

3. Did you see any advantages at the project management level (ie. outside the field)?

The logistics of using TD was a great advantage for project timelines; they are smaller and lighter, and they don’t always have to ship ground – I received them 2 days after I asked, whereas Sumas were often taking a week or two.

4. Any advice for other consultants looking at choosing TD for their work?

Something that other consultants might not know – which is a neat feature – is that once extracted the sample can be reloaded. So, any rechecks, reanalysis, or extra QA/QC that might be needed are all still available to us. And because the sample is not entirely consumed through the testing process, for anything legal or high risk you still have the sample – the TD itself becomes a data archive!

Ok, so NOW do you believe us?! 😊

The First Environmental Lab in BC for TD… and Now We’re in Alberta!

CARO has approached soil vapour testing with the objective of being industry technical leaders by improving soil vapour data quality and helping to reduce costs. Through our work in bringing Thermal Desorption (TD) technology to the market, we have accomplished just that! TD tubes provide a cost-effective, practical, and technically sound approach for collecting and analyzing soil vapour for a broad range of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).

In partnership with PerkinElmer, CARO was pleased to introduce the new Vapor Intrusion (SVI™) TD Tube to the environmental industry in 2009. This approach is gaining widespread industry acceptance as the predominant soil vapour method by virtue of lower achievable detection limits, decreased interferences, and overall ease of use in the field. Thermal Desorption is accepted by regulatory bodies across Canada for the detection of VOC contamination in soils.

Wait, there’s more!

In addition to the analysis of VOCs provided on TD tube media, CARO offers additional air testing services, Ammonia, Hydrogen Sulfide, Particulate Matter, and Stack Emission Testing.  If you ever want to pick our brains about your environmental testing project using TD technology in Alberta, our in-house expert Bryan Shaw; CARO’s Senior Technical Support Scientist, is always a great resource.  His presentation from EnviroTech earlier this year about the ‘Advantages in the Application of Thermal Desorption Tubes in Soil Vapour Investigations’ is available upon request – please email us at [email protected] if you want access to his presentation!