Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Impact of trichloroethylene contaminated groundwater discharged to the main canal and Indian River lagoon, Vero Beach, Florida

Journal Article · · Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol.; (United States)
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01609779· OSTI ID:5477436
Groundwater highly contaminated with trichloroethylene (TCE) from a leaky storage tank was detected in Vero Beach, Florida in 1978. Aware of this problem, the local and state authorities gave permission to pump out the contaminated water as a means of reducing concentrations in the aquifer. The water was air sprayed to strip the organic compounds and subsequently discharged and mixed by means of a hydraulic pump in the drainage canal. The average discharge rate of contaminated water into the canal was approximately 0.2 million gallons per day. This project was initiated to determine the spatial distribution of pollutants in the canal and river as well as rainfall and canal flow rate effects on water, sediment, and biological organisms. Prior to flushing the well, a baseline survey of trichloroethylene and other related compounds in the canal and river was performed.
Research Organization:
Harbor Branch Foundation, Inc., Fort Pierce, FL
OSTI ID:
5477436
Journal Information:
Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol.; (United States), Journal Name: Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol.; (United States) Vol. 34:4; ISSN BECTA
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English