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Data Series 378

Sample Collection and Laboratory Analysis

All sampling events (defined here as field trips to the Ely Copper Mine Superfund site where at least one sample was collected) occurred during the years 1998 to 2007, between early spring and late fall (April through November); the majority occurred May through September. A general summary of the sampling events is in table 1. Frequency of sampling events varied from hourly to annually. The matrix of samples collected (water, sediment, soil, fish, or macroinvertebrate) also varied among sampling events. About 60 percent of the total sample locations (n=154) had multiple sample-matrix types collected. Surface-water and stream-sediment samples were the most frequently collected samples. Samples were collected according to the sampling agency’s protocols, which varied among the different agencies.

Samples were primarily analyzed for a suite of inorganic elements, alkalinity, nutrients, and some organic elements. Field parameters were determined for most surface-water and pore-water samples (specific conductivity, pH, oxidation reduction potential, temperature, and dissolved oxygen). Not all samples were analyzed for the same constituents; most samples, however, were analyzed at least for the 23 contaminats identified by USEPA (Stan Pauwels, Techlaw, Inc., written commun., 2007) to be of potential concern for aquatic health: Al, Sb, As, Ba, Be, Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, Fe, Pb, Mn, Hg, Mo, Ni, Se, Ag, Sr, Tl, Sn, V, Zn, and Cyanide.

The datasets that contain chemical analyses include a "Method" column. Information contained in this column is either a brief description, an abbreviation, an acronym, a numeric code, or a name for the method of analysis. The original data files did not include references for the method of analysis; however, USGS methods are described in Brenton and Arnett, 1993; Briggs, 2002; Briggs and Meier, 2002; Fisherman, 1993; Lamothe and others, 2002; Patton and Kryskalla, 2003; Sholar and Shreve, 1998; Sobek and others, 1978; Theodorakos and others, 2002.

Table 1 is available as a pdf.

Table 1. Summary of selected sampling events completed at the Ely Copper Mine Superfund site in Vershire, VT, 1998–2007.

[No., Number; ADL, Arthur D. Little, Incorporated; VTDEC, Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation; USGS, U.S. Geological Survey; URS, URS Corporation; USEPA, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; CRREL, U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory; AVS/SEM, acid volatile sulfides/simultaneously extracted metals]

Dates No. of
Sample
Locations
No. of
Samples
Agency Assessments
Aquatic Biology

September–October 2001

5

5

ADL and VTDEC

Fish assemblage surveys

September–October 2001

5

15

ADL and VTDEC

Elements (in fish tissue)

October 2001

3

3

ADL and VTDEC

Macroinvertebrate survey

September 2006

8

8

USGS

Fish assemblage surveys

September 2006

8

27

USGS

Elements (in fish tissue)

September 2006

12

22

USGS

Macroinvertebrate surveys

September 2007

1

1

USGS

Fish assemblage surveys

Sediment

August 1998

5

5

USGS

Elements

July 2000

1

1

ADL

AVS/SEM, Elements

October 2000

1

1

ADL

AVS/SEM, Elements

September 2001

5

5

ADL

Elements

October 2001

3

3

VTDEC

Pebble count

November 2004

33

105

URS

AVS/SEM, Elements

June 2006

12

12

USEPA

Elements

August 2006

18

22

USGS

AVS/SEM, Elements, Grain size

Precipitate (P), Soil and Leachate (Mine-Waste) (MW), Seep Sediment (SS), Overbank Sediment (OS)

August 1998  (P)

1

1

USGS

Elements

August 1998 (MW)

8

8

USGS

Elements

June 2000 (MW)

2

2

USGS

Elements

October 2000 (MW)

2

6

USGS

Elements, Metal oxides

November 2001 (MW)

4

11

USGS

Elements, Metal oxides

October 2002 (MW)

13

22

USGS

Elements

November 2004 (SS)

1

1

URS

AVS/SEM, Elements

August 2006 (OS)

1

1

USGS

Elements

Water

May 2000

1

1

ADL

Alkalinity, Elements, Nutrients

July 2000

2

2

ADL

Alkalinity, Elements, Nutrients

September 2000

1

1

ADL

Alkalinity, Elements, Nutrients

May 2001

13

13

ADL

Elements

September 2001

11

11

ADL

Elements

March 2002

8

13

CRREL

Elements

April 2002

28

103

CRREL

Elements

May 2002

13

13

CRREL

Elements

June 2002

12

12

CRREL

Elements

July 2002

12

12

CRREL

Elements

August 2002

10

10

CRREL

Elements

September 2002

11

11

CRREL

Elements

November 2004

34

34

URS

Alkalinity, Elements

October 2005

9

9

USEPA

Elements

June 2006

8

16

USEPA

Alkalinity, Elements, Nutrients

August 2006

12

32

USGS

Alkalinity, Elements, Nutrients

September 2006

6

6

USGS

Alkalinity, Elements, Nutrients

April 2007

7

7

USEPA

Elements

May 2007

3

11

USEPA

Elements

May 2007

12

12

URS

Alkalinity, Elements

June 2007

2

4

USEPA

Elements

 

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