Principles of Contaminant Transport and Fate in Soil and Groundwater - A focus on petroleum, chlorinated solvents, and metals - California Dept. of Toxics Substance Control, Sacramento, CA

Contaminant Chemistry Overview

• Functional Groups, Chemical Properties, and Hazards

Transport Mechanisms

• Advection

• Mechanical Dispersion

• Diffusion (Chemical Dispersion)

• Effective Solubility

3- and 4-Phase Equilibrium Partitioning

• Adsorption and Absorption

• Applications of Kd, Koc, foc, Kow, and KH

• NAPL and the One Percent Rule

• Molar Fraction Calculation

• Contaminant Mass Fraction Calculation

• Residual Saturation Calculation

Groundwater Transport

• Hydrogeology Review

• Three Point Problem

• Contaminant Velocity Calculations

Nonaqueous Phase Liquid (NAPL) Transport

• Capillary Fringe Interactions and Smear Zones

• Estimating LNAPL Thickness from Well Free Product

• Estimating DNAPL Critical Height

Vapor Transport

• Contaminant Vapor Properties and Behavior

• Henry's Law Partitioning
  

Vapor Transport (cont.)

• Vapor Diffusion and Air-Filled Porosity

• Barometric Pumping
  

Natural Attenuation

• Natural Attenuation Processes

• Biodegradation Pathways for Common Contaminants

Focus on Hydrocarbon Contamination

• Gasoline and Diesel Chemistry

• BTEX, Oxygenates, and Additives

• Ethanol Cosolvation and Plume Elongation

• Geochemical Indicators of Natural Attenuation

• Plume Behavior and Zones

Focus on Chlorinated Hydrocarbon Contamination

• Chlorinated Solvent Chemistry

• Plume Behavior Classification
  

• Degradation Pathways
  

• Geochemical Indicators of Natural Attenuation

Focus on Metal Contaminants

• Mobility, pH, and Amphoterism

• Dissolved and Particulate Forms

• Cation/Anion Exchange and Variably Charged Soils

• Complexation, Chelation, and Ligands

• Hydrated Metals as Acids