Samuel P. Farnsworth, AMEC Earth & Environmental, Inc., W. Patrick Harrison, CSX Transportation, Inc., Marilyn Hoyt, AMEC Earth & Environmental, Inc., Eric Johnson, AMEC Earth & Environmental, Inc. and Deborah Taege, AMEC Earth & Environmental, Inc.

Storm water systems are designed to carry surface water run-off, usually from a developed area, to a location of discharge. However, storm-water sewer lines can also transport petroleum hydrocarbons from a variety of sources. At the subject site, No. 2 fuel oil is present in the subsurface. The storm sewer line, which drains a section of highway and other developed urban areas, transects the subject environmental site and at the site boundary discharges to a nearby river. Sheen observed at the outfall of the storm-water sewer line has been considered evidence that hydrocarbon sheen was infiltrating the sewer from the environmental site due to the site’s proximity to the outfall. However, remedial actions at the environmental site indicate that hydrocarbons are being contained.

A series of floating, absorbent booms were installed within the storm-water sewer line to assess the nature of the sheen and in an effort to identify potential off-site sources. Samples of sheen immediately upstream of the booms and samples of the boom material with absorbed sheen have been periodically collected and analyzed for hydrocarbon fingerprint, volatile petroleum hydrocarbon fractions and select volatile organic compounds. This presentation summarizes the results of this study and identifies how it impacted the selection of abatement measures to control the sheen, as allowable under the applicable regulatory framework.

Michael Flynn and William J. Mallio, Ph.D, P.G., LSP, SEA Consultants

Whether siting a new wastewater facility or constructing drainage or sewer line improvements contaminated soils and groundwater are commonly encountered. Common sources of contamination include residential underground storage tanks which have leaked or gasoline service stations, auto garages, dry cleaners, and industrial facilities. Even the placement of fill material during original road construction or utility placement can be a source of contaminated soil and groundwater. Urban and rural areas alike are subject to these and other sources of contamination.

Encountering contaminated soils and groundwater during construction can result in significant cost overruns, scheduling delays, and change orders. In addition, assessment of areas which may be impacted by oil or hazardous materials is required prior to conducting utility work, as per 310 CMR 40.0461(7), commonly referred to as the Massachusetts Contingency Plan - Utility Related Abatement Measures provisions.

The discussion will present practical approaches to construction specification development to ensure cost effective soil and groundwater management practices, and to ensure that construction workers and the public are adequately protected from the contamination. The discussion will also present the regulatory requirements of the Massachusetts Contingency Plan - Utility Related Abatement Measures specified in 310 CMR 40.000.

James Mullikin, Henry M. Jackson Foundation, John Litynski, USACHPPM, Brad Hutchens, USACHPPM, James Sheehy, USACHPPM, Gerald Falo, Ph.D., CHP, USACHPPM

Prior to the formation of the Deployment Environmental Surveillance Program at the USACHPPM in July 1996, no clear guidance existed for disease and non-battle injury intervention for Force Health Protection for deployed troops. A primary program function of the DESP is to detect, assess, and counter environmental health risks during military deployments. The Technical Guide (TG) –251 stands up as the comprehensive guide for environmental health risk detection and assessment. TG-251 is comprised of four sections on media sampling methodologies for water, soil, ambient air, and surface wipe sampling for chemical, and radiological agents, two sections on direct measurements for chemical, and radiological agents, one section on sampling and analysis of entomological specimens, and one section on sampling safeguards. The advantage of this guide is that the U.S. Army preventive medicine assets sanctioned to identify potential environmental health risks for military deployments may do so effectively and efficiently when using this one comprehensive guide. Commanders and other decision makers assessing operational risk can integrate the environmental health risk data, produced as result of implementing this guide, into the overall operational risk assessment.

S.N. Mogere and D.M. Nzyuko, Moi University, Kenya

Morphological changes in benthic populations of midges collected from 8 sites along River Nzoia were investigated for menta, mandible and antenna deformities. The fleshy part of the head was removed and headparts mounted on slides for examination under the microscope. In total 10,116 headparts of chironomids were examined.

Webuye site recorded the highest menta deformities with 69.81% of the examined menta deformed, followed by Shibale 29.54%. The same site also had the highest mandible deformities, with 36.75% deformed followed by Mumias (12.92%) while the greatest antennal deformities were recorded at Moisbridge 2 (13.43%). The control site on Mt Elgon had the least frequencies of monitored deformities in menta, mandibles and antennae.

There was a high prevalence of deformities in the tripartite teeth at all sites. Absence, bluntness, asymmetry and shortness in menta teeth as biomarker endpoints were more common in all sampled sites than other parameters monitored. Overlapping teeth observed only in Moisbridge 1 samples, represented 0.05% of the total teeth examined for this site.

The data show that chironomid mouth deformities can be used as biomarkers of pollution and the best mentum parameter for pollution monitoring is the median tripartite teeth, with asymmetry.

D.M.Nzyuko, S.N. Mogere, M.P. Tole, A.A. Oladimeji, and F.O. Osano, Moi University, Kenya

The R. Nzoia (Kenya) catchment basin is a region endowed with great agricultural potential. The river offloads its water into lake Victoria; the world’s second largest fresh water lake, shared by the three East African countries: Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Both the river and the lake are major sources of fish protein for local consumption and the international market. The ever-increasing human settlement on the catchment basin, and the associated industrial development coupled with mismanagement of watersheds, has however rendered R. Nzoia basin prone to massive soil erosion and consequently pollution of the river by run-off agrochemicals. The presence of the pesticide residues and their toxic and stable degradation products in these water reservoirs, pose a risk of toxicity not only to the diverse aquatic lifeforms therein but also the terrestrial organisms depended on them. This study sought to determine the status of the river water, sediment and fish as relates to pesticidal contamination.

The fairly used herbicides and their stable degradation products were identified and there level determined in R. Nzoia water, sediments and fish. Sample were collected at monthly intervals from August, 1998 to February, 1999 from nine sampling sites along river Nzoia. Water samples were extracted using acetone and hexane solvent, Sediments with dichloromethane and n-hexane while fish samples were subjected to soxhlet extraction ( Mann, 1995; UNEP, 1988). The extracts were cleaned analysed by chromatographic methods using external standards to determine the quantities of these herbicides and their metabolites in the samples.

Alachlor, metolachlor and 2,6,- diethylaniline and 2-ethyl-6-methylaniline(DEMA) were detected in 51.58, 37.03 and 81.48% respectively of all the water samples analysed. In sediments, alachlor was detected in 51.58%, while metolachlor and DEMA were both detected in 70.37%. In fish, alachlor, metolachlor and DEMA were detected in 18.75, 25.00 and 56.25% of the samples respectively. The results indicated that the mean concentrations of alachlor, metolachlor and DEMA were higher in sediments and fish than in water. On the average, the levels of the metabolites were generally higher than each of the parent compound. In a ongoing laboratory toxicity test, the metabolites have paradoxically been shown to be more toxic and stable than the parent compound. A potential risk of toxic exposure on the aquatic and the depended terrestrial organisms exists, despite the absence or satisfying levels of the parent pesticides, which are conventionally monitored. The risk of the increasing use of pesticides on the aquatic reservoirs is clearly demonstrated. The inclusion of the stable metabolites in the monitoring programmes and the use of pesticides with less toxic metabolites is recommended.

This study evaluated the feasibility of monitoring of the vadose zone to supplement groundwater monitoring techniques to assess the extent of residual subsurface contamination. In addition, the study characterized the response of the soil gas characteristics to different soil types and degrees of contamination. A field study was conducted at a former gasoline vending station located in Ottawa, Canada. The current state of contamination was determined by analysis of soil samples taken from boreholes. A series of 10 nested soil gas wells with monitoring depths of 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10 ft were then installed. Using these wells, soil gas surveys were performed at regular intervals over an period of time to quantify TPH, oxygen and carbon dioxide concentrations in the soil gas. Results indicate that soil gas wells located near the source term exhibited characteristic soil gas signatures and significant fluctuations in TPH, oxygen and carbon dioxide concentrations with time. Soil gas wells located beyond the soil contamination demonstrated limited correlation between TPH, oxygen and carbon dioxide concentrations and decreased seasonal variability.

John LaChance and Joseph Robb, ENSR International

Field investigations conducted from 1996 through 1998 identified petroleum hydrocarbons (Total BTEX < 2mg/L) and chlorinated solvents (PCE < 2mg/L) in a fractured bedrock aquifer at a former vehicle maintenance facility at a New England Superfund Site. Bedrock characterization and plume delineation activities were performed to aid in the design of an in-situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) pilot study. This paper presents the results of the bedrock characterization and plume delineation activities; a subsequent companion paper will present and discuss the results of the ISCO pilot study.

The fractured bedrock aquifer was characterized using proven methods such as collection of bedrock cores, visual characterization of fracture angles and densities, hydraulic injection tests, a suite of borehole geophysical techniques and a regional outcrop fracture survey. Bedrock at the site was identified as the Dedham Granite and consists of fractured equigranular igneous rock. Rock cores showed vertical (85° to 90° ), high angle (55° to 85° ) and moderate angle (35° to 55° ) fractures with varying apertures. Hydraulic injection tests clearly show fractures can be laterally interconnected for lengths of 12 meters or longer and vertically interconnected to depths of 7 meters or greater. Hydraulic conductivity (K) estimates based on packer injection tests indicate K ranges from 4.3 x 10^-5 to 2.6 x 10^-4 cm/sec and does not vary significantly with depth.

The horizontal and vertical extent of the dissolved VOCs in the fractured bedrock aquifer was delineated via groundwater sampling and analysis from the 26 bedrock boreholes. The vertical distribution of PCE was assessed at many of the bedrock borings via discrete interval packer sampling. These data were used in the design and implementation of an in-situ chemical oxidation pilot study and will be used to assess the effectiveness of the ISCO treatment.

Marta M. Young, Parsons Engineering Science, Inc.

What lies beneath the surface often goes unnoticed. Too often a contaminated site gets ignored due to lack of knowledge of historical activity occurring on the property which caused contaminates to leach into the subsurface.

This project will identify sources of surface water and groundwater contamination in an industrial/commercial region west of downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. Specifically, the area of study is a one mile corridor beginning at the Paul Brown Stadium running west along the Ohio River. The corridor extends approximately one quarter mile north of the Ohio River for the one mile extent.

Within the corridor, all properties have been examined, both in their past and present capacities, in order to identify chemicals of concern used or manufactured on the premises. Amongst the chemicals of concern include chlorinated solvents and petroleum hydrocarbons. Over the years these have leached into the subsurface contaminating soil, groundwater, and the Ohio River. Health risks associated with these chemicals have been analyzed, revealing an increase in the risks of cancer and other disease.