[CPEO-BIF] New York and the TAGA

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

The New York state Assembly report on Vapor Intrusion, found at
http://assembly.state.ny.us/comm/Encon/20060201/
specifically recommends that New York agencies consider the use of U.S. 
EPA's Trace Atmospheric Gas Analyzer (TAGA).

"DEC and DOH should consider the procurement of a TAGA unit for use at 
vapor intrusion and other contaminated sites.

"Experience at the Hopewell site has shown such units to be particularly 
effective at identifying the source of contaminants in indoor air. Such 
a tool has the potential to help the agencies gain a better 
understanding of the likelihood of contamination being associated with a 
source outside the home, information that can be crucial in deciding 
whether to mitigate or take other actions." (p. 49/p. 54 of PDF file)

The TAGA is a van-mounted instrument which, with the aid of a long tube, 
generates real-time measurements of indoor air contamination. It is 
useful not merely in generating a large number of samples, but in 
identifying pathways (such as openings in foundations) and interfering 
sources (such as consumer products). It can also be used to correlate 
results with real-time meteorological data.

A couple of weeks ago, I plugged the TAGA to a group of state 
regulators, who laughed that it was too expensive. However, though 
initial costs may be high, relative to summa canisters, the conventional 
sampling instruments, the cost per sample should be cost-competitive, 
particularly if the TAGA is used frequently. Employing it on multiple 
projects, with different contract consultants, may require changes in 
the way New York (or any other state) organizes its vapor intrusion 
investigations.




--
Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
http://www.cpeo.org


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