CONTEXT
INTERNSHIP PROGRAM AT WEST SYSTEMS
LANDCARE project internships have taken place in the West Systems Environment Technical Department, that develops and manages the environment business, including monitoring, analysis and characterization of environmental matrices services, designing and developing systems and measuring instruments, research and development, in more detail:

• Environmental Monitoring, Characterization and Analysis, related to the environmental safeguard and protection through the development and application of monitoring and analysis techniques;
• Engineering, which manages the design and development of innovative systems and tools and the development of prototypes;
• Systems and Instrumentation, which manages technological systems, instruments and equipment assembly and their putting into service;
• Research & Development, operating in the definition of technical project proposals in response to regional, national or EU calls for research funding.
 

THEMES DEVELOPED
LANDCARE students have acquired knowledge and experience on activities in the field of environmental monitoring, especially within the provision of services for the monitoring of gaseous exchange between soil and atmosphere (soil diffuse flux) of all the main greenhouse gases and volatile organic compounds in various fields of application, as landfill, volcanic, geothermal, contaminated sites, areas destined for agronomic use, wetlands, geological carbon dioxide storage sites (CCS) and strategic storage of natural gas.

The Training involved specific topics on:

1-Organizational processes, including the flow of activities, the company functions involved, the documents produced,  and the final results.

2-Methodologies applied in carrying out environmental monitoring activities, particularly soil flux measurements.

3-Technological instruments, particularly the flux-meter, a West Systems designed and manufactured portable equipment for the evaluation of gas exchange at interface between soil and atmosphere

4-Environmental legislation, especially Directive 1999/31/EC concerning waste landfill.
 

CONCLUSIONS

Training activities have given students the opportunity to gain experience in equipment use, instruments calibration in laboratory, measures in the field, data processing, technical documents analysis. Students also had the opportunity to learn about the markets in which West Systems operates and meet some of the key customers with whom West Systems collaborates.