Development testing of the chemical analysis automation polychlorinated biphenyl standard analysis method during surface soils sampling at the David Witherspoon 1630 site

Abstract

The Chemical Analysis Automation (CAA) project is developing standardized, software-driven, site-deployable robotic laboratory systems with the objective of lowering the per-sample analysis cost, decreasing sample turnaround time, and minimizing human exposure to hazardous and radioactive materials associated with DOE remediation projects. The first integrated system developed by the CAA project is designed to determine polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) content in soil matrices. A demonstration and development testing of this system was conducted in conjuction with surface soil characterization activities at the David Witherspoon 1630 Site in Knoxville, Tennessee. The PCB system consists of five hardware standard laboratory modules (SLMs), one software SLM, the task sequence controller (TSC), and the human-computer interface (HCI). Four of the hardware SLMs included a four-channel Soxhlet extractor, a high-volume concentrator, a column cleanup, and a gas chromatograph. These SLMs performed the sample preparation and measurement steps within the total analysis protocol. The fifth hardware module was a robot that transports samples between the SLMs and the required consumable supplies to the SLMs. The software SLM is an automated data interpretation module that receives raw data from the gas chromatograph SLM and analyzes the data to yield the analyte information. The TSC is a software system that provides the scheduling, management of system resources, and the coordination of all SLM activities. The HCI is a graphical user interface that presents the automated laboratory to the analyst in terms of the analytical procedures and methods. Human control of the automated laboratory is accomplished via the HCI. Sample information required for processing by the automated laboratory is entered through the HCI. Information related to the sample and the system status is presented to the analyst via graphical icons.