Hydrocarbon Degradation Potential in Reference Soils and Soils Contaminated with Jet Fuel.

摘要

A series of test wells were drilled adjacent to a fuel farm and a JP-5 jet fuel pump station located at a naval air station in Maryland. At least 5 hectares of subsurface soil (to an average depth of 4m) above a local aquifer were found to contain high concentrations of petroleum compounds, including such volatile aromatics as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes. Horizontal transport has resulted in slow seepage from banks into streams of the affected area. The source of the petroleum is due to various spills over the past 10 years and possible continuous leakage from the tanks. There is a large body of literature describing the microbial metabolism of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in aerobic solid-water system. Petroleum degradation in surface and subsurface soils is affected by such factors as moisture content, pH, soil type, soil organics, temperature, and oxygen concentrations. We determined the degradation rates of 14C-labeled hydrocarbons added to soils collected from a contaminated surface site (Site D), contaminated subsurface sites (Wells A and B), and a clean reference site (Well C).