Statistical application of groundwater monitoring data at the Hanford Site

Abstract

Effective use of groundwater monitoring data requires both statistical and geohydrologic interpretations. At the Hanford Site in south-central Washington state such interpretations are used for (1) detection monitoring, assessment monitoring, and/or corrective action at Resource Conservation and Recovery Act sites; (2) compliance testing for operational groundwater surveillance; (3) impact assessments at active liquid-waste disposal sites; and (4) cleanup decisions at Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act sites. Statistical tests such as the Kolmogorov-Smirnov two-sample test are used to test the hypothesis that chemical concentrations from spatially distinct subsets or populations are identical within the uppermost unconfined aquifer. Experience at the Hanford Site in applying groundwater background data indicates that background must be considered as a statistical distribution of concentrations, rather than a single value or threshold. The use of a single numerical value as a background-based standard ignores important information and may result in excessive or unnecessary remediation. Appropriate statistical evaluation techniques include Wilcoxon rank sum test, Quantile test, ``hot spot`` comparisons, and Kolmogorov-Smirnov types of tests. Application of such tests is illustrated with several case studies derived from Hanford groundwater monitoring programs. To avoid possible misuse of such data, an understanding of the limitations is needed. In additionmore » to statistical test procedures, geochemical, and hydrologic considerations are integral parts of the decision process. For this purpose a phased approach is recommended that proceeds from simple to the more complex, and from an overview to detailed analysis.« less