Fighting Soil Contamination with XRF

Across China, the fight is on to reduce pollution and protect the environment from its devastating effects.

Complying with new environmental regulations is a fast growing concern for companies and local officials tasked with ensuring that industries reduce pollution and clean up after themselves. It’s a particularly challenging issue when it comes to soil contamination It’s not always easy to detect as it silently contaminates crops and the ground water supply.

One tool that both companies and environmental officials will find very useful in the fight against pollution is Hitachi High-Tech’s X-MET8000 Expert Geo. This robust handheld instrument uses X-ray fluorescence (XRF) technology to analyse the elemental composition of soil samples. You simply point the nose of the device at the sample and pull the trigger.

Companies throughout the country are being encouraged to audit themselves in order to comply with the new environmental protection legislation. When environmental officials inspect a facility, they’ll be taking a whole range of things into account, including permits, compliance with land use and industrial policies, waste disposal methods, evidence of soil or ground water contamination, and more.

A simple handheld device like the X-MET8000 Expert Geo can be used as part of a self-auditing process ensuring there are no surprises when an inspection takes place. It makes basic screening of the soil simple and cost-effective, and if contamination is discovered, mitigating steps can be taken. Analysis can be carried out at multiple points at any given location, and the results can be stored in the X-MET8000 Expert Geo’s memory for later reference. The integrated GPS also means you can combine geolocation data with analyses results for flawless site mapping. It also works with Trimble® receivers for more accurate location data. And because you don’t have to send samples to a lab, it saves both time and money.

For the same reasons, it will make testing quicker and easier for environmental officials who have to carry out such inspections.