A gas chromatographic/chemical indicator approach to assessing ground water contamination by petroleum products

The water-soluble fractions of unleaded gasoline, kerosene and diesel fuel were evaluated by US EPA Methods 602, 610, and 625. Several chemical indicator compounds useful in assessing petroleum contamination of ground water, including benzene, substituted benzenes, n-alkanes, and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, were identified. These were applied to the interpretation of data collected from monitoring wells at gasoline service stations that were undergoing ground water remediation. The chemical indicators are used to identify the likely types(s) of petroleum contamination. Certain hydrocarbons may be unique to specific fuel types. Gas chromatograms of field sample extracts were compared with chromatograms of laboratory water-soluble fractions (WSFs) and neat fuels (unleaded gasoline, kerosene, and diesel). In some situations, field samples represented water-soluble fractions of the contaminating fuel. In others, a fuel-water agglomeration was indicated, with the chromatograms showing peaks that represented components of both the WSFs and the neat fuels. The use of both gas chromatography pattern identification and chemical indicators appears to be a viable approach to assessing ground water contamination caused by petroleum products