Pace Analytical Services is a private sampling and analytical company based in Pittsburgh, PA. The company provides analytical lab solutions for testing, staffing and equipment. The company has a nationwide network of 34 labs.
Pace provides forensic analysis to environmental companies. Forensic analysis seeks to answer five questions:
According to Joshua Richards, program manager for Pace, one of the company’s services is providing information to minimize risk during projects. Findings should be supported by data and be defensible in litigation cases.
There are four scenarios in which forensics may be used:
Tools
Pace uses petroleum forensics, chlorinated solvent forensics, chlorinated solvent forensics, and applied petroleum forensics as tools when it builds cases for clients.
Compound specific isotope analysis (CSIA), the primary tool in chlorinated solvent forensics, is used in a number of ways to enhance investigations. CSIA can be used to determine the presence of carbon isotopes, carbon/chlorine, and carbon/hydrogen.
Chemical pattern recognition, which seeks to build a chemical fingerprint, is equivalent to the use of human fingerprints in criminal investigations. Nearly all forensic investigators seek the defining characteristic that reveals the contaminant and where it originated.
Case studies
Pipeline spill near Santa Barbara, CA
A crude oil pipeline on the California coast ruptured, spilling over 3,000 barrels of crude oil on the coastline and into the Pacific Ocean. Seven miles of environmentally sensitive coastline and four state beaches were directly impacted, and tar balls were found on beaches hundreds of miles away.
Pace Analytical handled most of the lab work to support the emergency response and cleanup. Approximately $250,000 was spent on forensic efforts, including testing hundreds of oil samples to establish a clear fingerprint that was used as a comparison to determine if all contaminated material was from the ruptured pipeline. There is still outstanding litigation, but the client stated that Pace’s efforts saved the company millions of dollar by proving that some claims were not the client’s responsibility.
Degreasing operations, industrial park in North Carolina
A small company that ran a degreasing operation faced claims of contamination by private home owners. The company had previously admitted activities that had produced a solvent plume moving down gradient that had crossed its property line.
A consultant suggested a CSIA evaluation to determine if an alternate source of contamination existed. Tests conducted by Pace revealed wells drilled by another company were the source of some contaminants. An agreement was reached that saved the company about $440,000 due to reduced remediation and VI mitigation costs.