D.4 DUMPStat

Approximate Cost: $2,500 for a landfill (or other facility) license; includes a copy of the software. Software is available separately for $500 per copy for use with already licensed sites. Upgrade pricing to be determined.

Source:  Discerning Systems Inc. (www.DiscerningSystems.com)

Version: 2.3 (scheduled for early 2013)

Operating System Needs: Windows XP (has been successfully installed and used on Windows 7 32-bit and 64-bit; 64-bit requires the Microsoft Virtual PC and XP mode)

Input Structure: ASCII (text) flat file; one data row per measurement; comma-separated values (CSV) file, delimited, or fixed column, flexible column order

Overview

DUMPStat is a statistical package used to perform ongoing detection monitoring. Primarily designed for the analysis of waste disposal facilities, DUMPStat is also used at a wide variety of facilities including mining and industrial sites. It statistically analyzes data from groundwater, surface water, and air to comply with monitoring requirements.

DUMPStat is licensed on a per landfill (or other facility) basis and includes a copy of the software. Additional copies of the software can be purchased for use with licensed facilities. No ongoing fees are charged to monitor a facility.

Add-Ins Available

None

Ease of Use and Data Import

DUMPStat merges structured ASCII (text) files into its environmental database. Once the data are merged, select the monitoring network and contaminants for analysis and specify statistical options so that each type of analysis can be custom tailored as required. These selections persist as new data are added, so that subsequent analyses can be performed easily.

An analysis screen provides a means to select one or several analyses to be performed and serves as a central location for accessing all results. The program makes all decisions on the most appropriate methods to use within the parameters of the statistical analysis settings, which guide the processing automatically so that large quantities of environmental data can be analyzed quickly and correctly. DUMPStat provides separate viewers for the graphical and tabular results and worksheets, which show the individual statistical calculations in detail. The viewers allow for the customization of display and printing with options for colors, scaling and page layout, and filtering options to highlight statistically interesting results such as exceedances or those containing trends. A new sample descriptor feature allows you to assign custom symbols to classes of points. This feature generates legend entries and all symbols can be scaled and line thickness adjusted. DUMPStat 2.3 also allows you to add annotations to graphs. You can edit, reposition, resize, and rescale these annotations. Annotations persist so that they do not need to be regenerated after every analysis. Use the dedicated Print Results screen to print all output from one place (includes options for grouping and ordering of the results).

You can set up a series of zones so that multiple areas of a site (whether they are related physically or statistically) can be batch processed in different ways from other zones without re-entering the monitoring network and statistical options.

DUMPStat includes a complete simulation module that can be used to compute site-wide false positiveIn hypothesis testing, if the null hypothesis (H₀) is true but is rejected in favor of the alternate hypothesis (Hᴀ) which is not true, then a false positive (Type I) error has occurred (Unified Guidance). and false negativeIn hypothesis testing, if the alternative hypothesis (Hᴀ) is true but is rejected in favor of the null hypothesis (H₀) which is not true, then a false negative (Type II, β) error has occurred (Unified Guidance). rates (statistical powerStrength of a test to identify an actual release of contaminated groundwater or difference from a criterion (Unified Guidance).) based on any combination of statistical methods available. Statistical powerSee "statistical power." characteristics for different statistical monitoring plans can easily be compared and contrasted in terms of their Type I (false positive) and Type II (false negative) rates.

Types of Distributions

Normal, log normal, cube root, square root, square, cube, Poisson, gammaA gamma distribution or data set. A parametric unimodal distribution model commonly applied to groundwater data where the data set is left skewed and tied to zero. Very similar to Weibull and lognormal distributions; differences are in their tail behavior, and the gamma density has the second longest tail where its coefficient of variation is less than 1 (Unified Guidance; Gilbert 1987; Silva and Lisboa 2007). and nonparametricStatistical test that does not depend on knowledge of the distribution of the sampled population (Unified Guidance). distributions are available for data analysis. Selection of the appropriate distribution is according to Helsel’s Ladder of Powers: normal, lognormalA dataset that is not normally distributed (symmetric bell-shaped curve) but that can be transformed using a natural logarithm so that the data set can be evaluated using a normal-theory test (Unified Guidance)., cube root, square root, square, and cube.

Visualization

Specific options for data output include control charts, prediction limit graphs, confidence intervalStatistical interval designed to bound the true value of a population parameter such as the mean or an upper percentile (Unified Guidance). charts and power curves. The graphs can be cut and pasted to move into other applications.

Primary Uses for Groundwater Data Analysis

DUMPStat is used by engineers, environmental scientists, regulators, consultants, owner, and operators to comply with state and federal regulations at waste disposal facilities, industrial plants, and mining sites. It is used primarily for ongoing detection monitoring. DUMPStat statistical analyses are consistent with USEPA Subtitle D, American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Standard D6312-98 requirements for landfill detection monitoring, and methods described in the USEPA Unified Guidance.

Benefits

• DUMPStat imports, stores, and manages large amounts of environmental data.
• Data can be edited, aliased, reviewed and printed. Units can be converted.
• Flexible data import works with many laboratory data file formats and qualifiers.
• Statistical options and user adjustable time windows provide a means to customize analyses, while maintaining batch processing for fast, automated results.
• Correct application of statistical methods avoids costly assessments and remediation.
• Centralized analysis and printing speeds report generation.
• Powerful display and filtering options for output highlight important results.

Limitations and Data Requirements

• Cost
• Each site must be licensed independently.
• DUMPStat does not interface with other programs for graphical output, it is limited to cut and paste into other applications.

 

Publication Date: December 2013