SOIL GAS FAQs

What is soil gas? In what ways can the contamination of soil gas impact indoor air quality?

Soil gas is the air space in soil pores containing oxygen and carbon dioxide. Through air and water vapor traveling through soil gas, contaminants including radon, methane gases, hydrogen sulfide, and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can be carried and deposited into the structure of a building through air leakage. While soil gas pollutants can originate from naturally occurring sources, a great deal of contaminants can come from leaking underground storage tanks, pipes, trenches, and landfills.

Whether man-made or naturally occurring, pollutant sources traveling through soil gas can negatively impact the air quality within a building. These gases are known to cause respiratory irritation and lung disease.

What will a soil gas test accomplish?

Soil gas tests serve to identify pollutants and relative concentrations, as well as the source and extent of the contaminants. A survey of the land surrounding a building or structure can monitor and detect depressurization. Testing can also be conducted throughout the process of radon sub slab mitigation to monitor progress.

Is there a cost-effective and efficient way to conduct a soil gas test?

Soil gas testing is common practice for commercial building developers and landowners. Testing has become more accessible as technology for surveying has increasingly advanced over time; however, some tests can be expensive, cumbersome, disruptive to survey sites, and leak, providing inaccurate readings.

How does the Vapor Pin effectively test for soil gas contamination?

Cox-Colvin and Associates has made extensive strides in testing advances through its patented Vapor Pins™, which provide quick, real-time test results to indicate soil gas contamination. The Vapor Pins^® provide sub-slab testing through rapidly installed sampling points above (one-time sampling) or below grade (repeat sampling). The pins can be installed in under ten minutes with hand-held tools, requiring no cement or grout unlike most sampling devices.

Vapor Pins^® reduce the time, expense, and risk of leakage involved with soil gas sampling. The re-usable device contains a built-in disposable seal, connects easily to sampling equipment, and is re-usable.

Along with sub-slab soil gas sampling, the Vapor Pins^® can also perform de-pressurization studies, stray gas evaluations, source and area characterization, and mitigation process monitoring.

The streamlined procedures and reduced costs allow for the collection of an extensive array of soil-gas samples, enabling environmental professionals to focus on effective investigative and remediation efforts.