Low-Level Detections of Halogenated Volatile Organic Compounds in Groundwater: Use in Vulnerability Assessments
Publication: Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 13, Issue 11
Abstract
Concentrations of halogenated volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were determined by gas chromatography (GC) with an electron-capture detector (GC-ECD) and by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) in 109 groundwater samples from five study areas in the United States. In each case, the untreated water sample was used for drinking-water purposes or was from a monitoring well in an area near a drinking-water source. The minimum detection levels (MDLs) for 25 VOCs that were identified in GC-ECD chromatograms, typically, were two to more than four orders of magnitude below the GC-MS MDLs. At least six halogenated VOCs were detected in all of the water samples analyzed by GC-ECD, although one or more VOCs were detected in only 43% of the water samples analyzed by GC-MS. In nearly all of the samples, VOC concentrations were very low and presented no known health risk. Most of the low-level VOC detections indicated post-1940s recharge, or mixtures of recharge that contained a fraction of post-1940s water. Concentrations of selected halogenated VOCs in groundwater from natural and anthropogenic atmospheric sources were estimated and used to recognize water samples that are being impacted by nonatmospheric sources. A classification is presented to perform vulnerability assessments at the scale of individual wells using the number of halogenated VOC detections and total dissolved VOC concentrations in samples of untreated drinking water. The low-level VOC detections are useful in vulnerability assessments, particularly for samples in which no VOCs are detected by GC-MS analysis.
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Acknowledgments
The writers thank Ernesto Gonzalez, Gerolamo C. Casile, and Julian E. Wayland for low-level GC-ECD VOC analyses performed in the U.S. Geological Survey Chlorofluorocarbon Laboratory, Reston, Va. The GC-MS VOC analyses were performed at the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Laboratory, Lakewood, Colo. We thank the municipalities and water suppliers who participated in this study for their assistance in providing access to public-supply wells. The writers also thank the various USGS field crews for assistance in sample collection. The paper was improved by the reviews of M. J. Focazio (USGS, Reston, Va.), M. J. Moran (USGS, Rapid City, S.D.), and D. H. Tepper (USGS, Reston, Va.). Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
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Published In
Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 13 • Issue 11 • November 2008
Pages: 1049 - 1068
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© 2008 ASCE.
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Received: Jan 3, 2008
Accepted: Jun 4, 2008
Published online: Nov 1, 2008
Published in print: Nov 2008
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