Direct Push Technology (DPT) and a modified-auger method of sampling were used at an abandoned wood-preserving plant site at Jackson, Tennessee, to collect lithologic data and ground-water samples in an area known to be affected by a subsurface creosote plume. The groundwater samples were analyzed using (1) gas chromatography with photo-ionization detection (GS/PID), (2) high- performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), (3) colonmetric phenol analysis, and (4) toxicity bioassay. DPT piezocone and cone-penetrometer-type tools provided lithologic data and ground-water samples at two onsite stations to a depth of refusal of about 35 feet below land surface. With the assistance of an auger rig, this depth was extended to about 65 feet by pushing the tools in advance of the augers. Following the DPT work, a modified-auger method was tested by the USGS. This method left doubt as to the integrity of the samples collected once zones of contamination were penetrated. GC/PID and HPLC methods of water-quality analysis provided the most data concerning contaminants in the ground-water and proved to be the most effective in creosote plume detection. Analyses from these methods showed that the highest concentrations of contaminants were detected at depths less than about 35 feet below land surface. Phenol analyses provided data supplemental to the HPLC analyses. Bioassay data indicated that toxicity associated with the plume extended to depths of about 55 feet below land surface.
