Interdisciplinary investigation of subsurface contaminant transport and fate at point-source releases of gasoline containing MTBE

Conference · Wed Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1997

OSTI ID:569885

Buxton, H T; Baehr, A L ^[1]; Landmeyer, J E ^[2]

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1. Geological Survey, West Trenton, NJ (United States)
2. Geological Survey, Columbia, SC (United States); and others

Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) is commonly found at concentrations above the current U.S. Environmental Protection Agency draft lifetime health advisory for drinking water (20 to 200 micrograms per liter) at many point-source gasoline release sites. MTBE is significantly more persistent than benzene, toluene, ethyl-benzene and xylenes (BTEX) in the subsurface. Therefore, evaluation of the implications of its presence in gasoline to monitored natural attenuation and engineered bioremediation alternatives is warranted. An interdisciplinary, field-based investigation of the subsurface transport and fate of MTBE and petroleum hydrocarbons is being conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Toxic Substances Hydrology Program at the site of an underground gasoline storage-tank release near Beaufort, South Carolina. The objective of the investigation is to provide a systematic evaluation of natural attenuation of MTBE compared to BTEX. Results of the field and laboratory studies at this site will be generalized to a broader range of hydrogeochemical conditions through experiments at other sites. Furthermore, newly developed methods of analysis can be applied to sites across the Nation. This investigation of MTBE at point-source release sites is coordinated with investigations of the occurrence of MTBE in shallow ground water, surface water, precipitation, and the atmosphere being conducted by the USGS National Water-Quality Assessment Program.

• OSTI ID: 569885
• Report Number(s): CONF-971116--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
58 GEOSCIENCES
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
GASOLINE
GROUND WATER
METHYL ETHER
REMEDIAL ACTION
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
SITE CHARACTERIZATION
SOUTH CAROLINA
US GS