Taming Environmental Data

Duplancic, Neno; Buckle, Gregory; ,

Taming Environmental Data

by Neno Duplancic, (M.ASCE), Principal Designer; Canonie Environmental Services Corp., Pleasanton, CA,
Gregory Buckle, Staff Consultant; IT Corp., Martinez, CA,

Serial Information: Civil Engineering—ASCE, 1992, Vol. 62, Issue 8, Pg. 56-58

Document Type: Feature article

Abstract:

The main problem with environmental management is the vast quantity of data generated for and by analysis. A computer system designed to solve this problem moves data from the database to commercially available graphics software without operator intervention. In California, one landfill closure program involves several sites operated by International Technology Corp. (IT) of Torrance. The company is preparing to monitor more than 200 wells over a 30-year period. On the East Coast, IT Corp. is investigating leachate distribution at the Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island for the New York City Department of Sanitation. The landfill is the largest in the world, and an exceptionally large amount of data is being developed in the hydrogeological and the surface water and sediment investigations. The project involves analyzing 288 parameters in samples from about 180 ground water wells and 17 surface water stations each quarter. Both projects are being managed with the IT Environmental Database Management System (ITEMS), a computer system that can move data from the database to graphics software, download analytical results from different laboratories electronically, and format output in any number of ways. With the statistical module, users can generate summary, ground water and trend statistics.

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