--> ABSTRACT: Monitoring and Remediation of Subsurface Hydrocarbon Contamination at an EPA Superfund Site, by David S. Peterson, Robert L. Stollar; #91003 (1990).

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ABSTRACT: Monitoring and Remediation of Subsurface Hydrocarbon Contamination at an EPA Superfund Site

David S. Peterson, Robert L. Stollar

Industrial, commercial, and defense-related operations make heavy use of halogenated hydrocarbon solvents. There are many cases where these hydrocarbons have entered the ground through accidents, unregulated storage or disposal practices, and poor management. After entering the soil the hydrocarbons may infiltrate downward through the unsaturated zone to the water table, contaminating not only the soil but also groundwater resources. Depending on federal, state, or local regulatory limits and guidelines, this contamination must be removed or remediated to meet publicly acceptable levels. To remediate the soil and groundwater, it is often necessary to understand the mechanism of contamination and the groundwater flow system, to delineate the extent of the contamination, an to set up a monitoring system before final remediation takes place.

Successful restoration of a groundwater aquifer from hydrocarbon contamination is being done by the Watkins-Johnson Company at its Stewart Division plant in Scott Valley, California. The contamination consists primarily of halogenated hydrocarbons such as trichloroethene (TCE), tetrachloroethene (PCE), chloroform, and methylene chloride.

The remedial investigation and feasibility study began in 1984. Aquifer restoration began in 1986, and the site became a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Superfund site in 1987. The program has included field and laboratory tasks to determine extent and to monitor contamination in the unsaturated zone and also perched and regional zones of the water-table aquifer. Numerical flow and transport models were used for initial remedial system design and to test final clean-up schemes.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91003©1990 AAPG Annual Convention, San Francisco, California, June 3-6, 1990