Workshop # 8: Forensic Environmental Geochemistry: Petroleum Fuels

Alan Jeffrey, Ph.D., ZymaX envirotechnology, Inc., San Luis Obispo, CA

Hydrocarbon contamination, ranging from natural gas to heavy petroleum fuels, is frequently encountered in surface and subsurface soils and water.  Responsibility for disposing of the hydrocarbons is often a contentious issue and relies on legally defensible identification of the source of the hydrocarbons Spilled hydrocarbons are subject to evaporation, water dissolution, and biodegradation, all of which alter the composition, and complicate the identification of fuel types.  Identification is further complicated by co-mingling of fuels of different types, or co-mingling of similar fuels released at different times.  

Detailed geochemical techniques such as high resolution GC, GC/MS, and stable isotope analysis are used to identify chemical and isotopic fingerprints of fuels in a sample.  GC/MS analysis in particular allows fingerprints of minor fuel hydrocarbons, such as isoalkanes, cycloalkanes, aromatics, and biological markers, to be identified.  This is useful in biodegraded samples where the GC fingerprints are featureless because of loss of the normally dominant n-alkanes.  These techniques can also be used to assess the degree of alteration of free products, and from this and site information, an estimate of the length of time the source fuel has been in the environment may be made. 

Case studies will be described which illustrate how these techniques have been used in actual projects.

Workshop # 9:  MGP Site Closures: Experiences from the Trenches - Point Counter Point Technology Review

Scott Saroff, ENSR International, Syracuse, NY 
Chris Mitchell, ENSR International, Westford, MA

This special workshop will consist of short point and counterpoint presentations and critical point discussions regarding four MGP site innovative and conventional remedial technologies and site closure approaches:

- Chemical Oxidation; 
- Monitored Natural Attenuation;
- Physical Containment; and
- Dig and Haul.  

Presentations will be made by invited experts, utility project managers, and regulators, and the critical discussions will be opened to all Workshop participants.

The objective of the presentations and discussions is to solicit experiences - positive and negative - for these site remedial approaches in order to gain current understandings from the regulated community and the regulators regarding their technical effectiveness, limitations, and acceptability.  

Workshop #10: Environmental Fate of Hydrocarbons in Soils and Groundwater

James Dragun, Ph.D., The Dragun Corporation, Farmington Hills, MI

This course will cover predicting  bulk hydrocarbon migration, the extent of absorption of organic chemicals, chemical volatility in soil, organic chemical reaction rates and rates of organic chemicals in soils.  The information will be presented in the context of site remediation, site disposal facilities, and analyzing chemical releases, as well as auditing closures of industrial facilities. 

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