ARTICLES
Jan 1, 2002

Transport of Subsurface Chemicals under Nonequilibrium Sorption Conditions

Publication: Practice Periodical of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste Management
Volume 6, Issue 1

Abstract

An increasing weight of evidence has indicated that under certain conditions chemicals above background levels in soils may not be easily released and thus may not have an adverse environmental effect. This has led to a broadening body of knowledge about the extent and rate of release (ROR) of hydrocarbons from contaminated soil. A groundwater fate and transport screening model was developed that incorporates chemical ROR kinetics for the express purpose of identifying where and when the incorporation of ROR information may affect model predictions, as well as site remediation and management decisions. The results from this evaluation indicate that at many sites the incorporation of chemical release kinetics in such models leads to important differences in predicted chemical concentrations that reach a receptor. This paper also discusses how ROR information may be used to improve model predictions at a site, how to evaluate the importance of ROR at a site, and how to identify the most influential input parameters.

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Go to Practice Periodical of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste Management
Practice Periodical of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste Management
Volume 6Issue 1January 2002
Pages: 41 - 48

History

Received: Oct 3, 2001
Accepted: Oct 5, 2001
Published online: Jan 1, 2002
Published in print: Jan 2002

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Authors

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Daniel R. Opdyke
Project Engineer, Quantitative Environmental Analysis LLC, 290 Elwood Davis Road, Suite 230, Liverpool, NY 13088.
Raymond C. Loehr
Professor, Hussein M. Alharthy Centennial Chair in Civil Engineering, Environmental and Water Resources Engineering Program, College of Engineering, Univ. of Texas, Austin, Austin, TX 78712.

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