Geosciences — Between the heat, cold, dust and dirt, it can sometimes be difficult for scientists to collect and process subsurface samples in the field. With the help of the Subsurface Science Initiative’s Geosciences Research group, a new 26-foot mobile field laboratory is now available. The laboratory will provide scientists with the capability of preparing samples in a clean facility and is expected to significantly increase the ability of scientists to conduct high-quality research.
Hydrochemist Travis McLIng, a principal scientist in the Geosciences Research group, made sure that the mobile laboratory was planned for a range of uses. He asked microbiologists, field hydrologists, geologists and other scientists to list their requirements and then entered their comments into a database to discover what requirements were most frequently requested.
McLing says that he started at the top of the wish list when deciding what to put in the trailer. His decisions were based on providing tools that could be used by the greatest number of people. "Everyone can use almost everything in the lab," McLing says," though no one is getting everything they wanted."
For instance, hoods were a universal request. But when the choice came down to a box-end wrench or a crescent wrench, McLIng had to choose the crescent wrench. Although the box-end wrench might be the best tool for some jobs, the crescent wrench is adequate and can be used in more situations.
Planning, purchasing and fully outfitting the $75 thousand dollar mobile laboratory took six months. It contains a variety of tools from refrigerators and a high-vacuum wet chemistry system, to self-contained gas chromatograph vents, areas for acid storage and communications hookups.
"The mobile lab gives us capabilities similar to a fixed lab facility at a field site," says McLIng. "There are special counter tops and floors of epoxy resin to resist chemical spills. We have a complete reverse-osmosis, de-ionized water system. Because of these capabilities, we can prepare samples and conduct initial analysis on-site, and then transport the samples--intact and adequately preserved--back to the lab for full analysis."
The mobile laboratory will be used for field studies and site characterizations at the INEEL and other DOE sites across the country. It is anticipated that the laboratory will be used at any given site for six to nine months--the average length of time for a field research campaign--for an average of two research campaigns a year. The laboratory is already scheduled for the summer of 2001 at the INL’s new Vadose Zone Research Park.
- Contacts:
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Travis McLing, (208) 526-7269, Send E-mail