Both Thermal Desorption (TD) Tubes and SUMMA canisters are proven technologies and can be successfully deployed in a variety of field conditions.
TD Tubes are preferable if the list of target contaminants of concern includes a lot of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). This is because some solvents are not stable in gaseous form and TD tubes permit the dissolving of those parameters into methanol which can then be analysed.
Traditionally, TD tubes have been discouraged in areas with wet soil. Bureau Veritas Laboratories TD Tubes can handles significant volumes of high moisture content air.
SUMMA canisters are preferable if sampling sites have:
- Highly contaminated soils
- Tight soil conditions which may cause sampling pumps to fail.