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Guidance on the Use of Passive-Vapor-Diffusion Samplers to Detect Volatile Organic Compounds in Ground-Water-Discharge Areas, and Example Applications in New EnglandWater-Resources Investigations Report 02-4186 |
Polyethylene-membrane passive-vapor-diffusion samplers, or PVD samplers, have been shown to be an effective and economical reconnaissance tool for detecting and identifying volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in bottom sediments of surface-water bodies in areas of ground-water discharge. The PVD samplers consist of an empty glass vial enclosed in two layers of polyethylene membrane tubing. When samplers are placed in contaminated sediments, the air in the vial equilibrates with VOCs in pore water. Analysis of the vapor indicates the presence or absence of VOCs and the likely magnitude of concentrations in pore water.
Examples of applications at nine hazardous-waste sites in New England demonstrate the utility of PVD samplers in a variety of hydrologic settings, including rivers, streams, ponds, wetlands, and coastal shorelines. Results of PVD sampling at these sites have confirmed the presence and refined the extent of VOC-contaminated ground-water-discharge areas where contaminated ground water is known, and identified areas of VOC-contaminated ground-water discharge where ground-water contamination was previously unknown. The principal VOCs detected were chlorinated and petroleum hydrocarbons. Vapor concentrations in samplers range from not detected to more than 1,000,000 parts per billion by volume. These results provided insights about contaminant distributions and ground-water-flow patterns in discharge areas, and have guided the design of focused characterization activities.
Abstract
Introduction
Advantages and Limitations of Passive-Vapor-Diffusion Samplers
Advantages
Limitations
PART 1. Guidance on the Use of Passive-Vapor-Diffusion Samplers By Don A. Vroblesky
Assembly of Samplers
Deployment of Samplers
Recovery of Samplers
Factors Affecting Deployment of Samplers and Data Interpretation
Quality Control and Assurance
PART 2. Example Applications in New England
Eastern Surplus Company Superfund Site, Meddybemps, Maine By Forest P. Lyford and Edward M. Hathaway
McKin Company Superfund Site, Gray, Maine By Forest P. Lyford, Terrence R. Connelly, and Laura E. Flight
Nutmeg Valley Road Superfund Site, Wolcott and Waterbury, Connecticut By John R. Mullaney, Peter E. Church, and Carolyn J. Pina-Springer
Baird & McGuire Superfund Site, Holbrook, Massachusetts By Jennifer G. Savoie and Melissa G. Taylor
Allen Harbor Landfill, Davisville Naval Construction Battalion Center Superfund Site, North Kingstown, Rhode Island By Forest P. Lyford, William C. Brandon, and Christine A. P. Williams
Calf Pasture Point, Davisville Naval Construction Battalion Center Superfund Site, North Kingstown, Rhode Island By Forest P. Lyford, Christine A. P. Williams, and William C. Brandon
Otis Air National Guard/Camp Edwards Superfund Site, Johns Pond, Falmouth, Massachusetts By Jennifer G. Savoie and Denis R. Leblanc
Nyanza Chemical Waste Dump Superfund Site, Ashland, Massachusetts By Forest P. Lyford, Richard E. Willey, and Sharon M. Hayes
Centredale Manor Restoration Project Superfund Site, North Providence, Rhode Island By Peter E. Church, Forest P. Lyford, and Anna F. Krasko
Quality-Assurance Procedures
Summary and Conclusions
References Cited
Appendix 1. Laboratory and Field Testing of Passive-Vapor-Diffusion Sampler Equilibration Times, Temperature Effects, and Sample Stability By Don A. Vroblesky
Equilibration Times and Temperature Effects
Sample Stability
Appendix 2. Field Screening of Volatile Organic Compounds Collected with Passive-Vapor-Diffusion Samplers with a Gas Chromatograph By Scott Clifford
1-9. Photographs showing:
1. Glass vial in two layers of polyethylene tubing
2. Passive-vapor-diffusion samplers with (A) vial and screw cap, (B) uncapped glass vial sealed in polyethylene tubing and secured to wire surveyor flag, and (C) glass vial sealed in polyethylene sandwich bags and secured to wire surveyor flag
3. Heat sealing of glass vial in polyethylene tubing
4. Glass vial positioned in sandwich bag so that a single layer of low-density polyethylene is tight across the opening and the self-locking nylon tie does not interfere with capping
5. Installation method for passive-vapor-diffusion samplers in water 0 to 2 feet deep
6. Drive-point assembly for installation of passive-vapor-diffusion sampler in water 2 to 4 feet deep in clayey silt to coarse sand and gravel sediments
7. Drive-point method for installation of passive-vapor-diffusion sampler in water 2 to 4 feet deep in clayey silt to coarse sand and gravel sediments
8. Screwing a septated cap onto a glass vial encased in the inner low-density polyethylene tubing
9. (A) Attaching and (B) crimping a septated cap onto a glass vial encased in the inner low-density polyethylene tubing
10-21. Maps showing:
10. Locations of sites in New England where passive-vapor-diffusion samplers have been used to detect and delineate discharge areas of ground water contaminated by volatile organic compounds into surface-water bodies
11. Location of the Eastern Surplus Superfund Site and study area, Meddybemps, Maine
12. Potentiometric surfaces and generalized ground-water-flow directions for the surficial and bedrock aquifers, Eastern Surplus Superfund Site, Meddybemps, Maine, April 30, 1997
13. Concentrations of tetrachloroethene (PCE) in passive-vapor-diffusion samplers installed in river-bottom sediments on the western edge of Dennys River, Meddybemps, Maine, October 1996
14. Location of the McKin Superfund Site and study area, potentiometric surface contours for the surficial aquifer, and extent of trichloroethene in ground water, Gray, Maine
15. Locations of passive-vapor-diffusion samplers installed in river-bottom sediment along and near the Royal River in September and October 1997, and extent of trichloroethene in ground water, Gray, Maine
16. Concentrations of trichloroethene in passive-vapor-diffusion samplers installed in river-bottom sediments near Boiling Springs, Gray, Maine, September and October 1997
17. Location of the Nutmeg Valley Road Superfund Site and study area, Nutmeg Valley, Wolcott and Waterbury, Connecticut
18. Concentrations of trichloroethene plus tetrachloroethene in passive-vapor-diffusion samplers installed in river-bottom sediments of the Mad River, Old Tannery Brook, and an unnamed stream, Nutmeg Valley, Wolcott and Waterbury, Connecticut, July 1997
19. Concentrations of trichloroethene plus tetrachloroethene in passive-vapor-diffusion samplers installed in river-bottom sediments of the Mad River, Old Tannery Brook, and an unnamed stream, Nutmeg Valley, Wolcott and Waterbury, Connecticut, November 1997
20. Location of the Baird & McGuire Superfund Site and study area, Holbrook, Massachusetts
21. Concentrations of trichloroethene plus tetrachloroethene and petroleum compounds in passive-vapor-diffusion samplers installed in river-bottom sediments of the Cochato River, Baird & McGuire Superfund Site, Holbrook, Massachusetts, March and April 1998
22. Aerial photograph showing locations of the Allen Harbor Landfill and Calf Pasture Point study areas, Davisville Naval Construction Battalion Center Superfund Site, North Kingstown, Rhode Island
23-33. Maps showing:
23. Directions of ground-water flow in the shallow and deep surficial aquifers, concentrations of volatile organic compounds in ground water beneath the Allen Harbor Landfill, December 1995, and concentration of trichloroethene in passive-vapor-diffusion samplers installed in tidal-zone sediments along the shoreline of Allen Harbor Landfill, April 1998, Davisville Naval Construction Battalion Center Superfund Site, North Kingstown, Rhode Island
24. Potentiometric surfaces and generalized ground-water-flow directions for the shallow and deep surficial aquifers, Calf Pasture Point, Davisville Naval Construction Battalion Center Superfund Site, North Kingstown, Rhode Island, December 1995
25. Concentrations of trichloroethene in passive-vapor-diffusion samplers installed in the tidal-zone sediments along the shoreline and in wetland-bottom sediments near the shoreline, Calf Pasture Point, Davisville Naval Construction Battalion Center Superfund Site, North Kingstown, Rhode Island, March and April 1998
26. Locations of the Johns Pond study area and Storm Drain-5 contaminant plume, and the altitude of water table (March 1993), Cape Cod, Massachusetts
27. Concentrations of trichloroethene plus tetrachloroethene in passive-vapor-diffusion samplers installed in pond-bottom sediments adjacent to the Storm Drain-5 contaminant plume, Johns Pond, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, August 1998
28. Concentrations of trichloroethene in passive-vapor-diffusion samplers installed in pond-bottom sediments in the zones where high concentrations (greater than 10,000 part per billion by volume) of trichloroethene were detected with passive-vapor-diffusion samplers in August 1998, Johns Pond, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, December 1998
29. Discharge areas delineated with passive-vapor-diffusion samplers, August and December 1998, and ground-water pathways of the Storm Drain-5 plume and trichloroethene plumes, Johns Pond, Cape Cod, Massachusetts
30. Location of Nyanza Chemical Waste Dump Superfund Site, passive-vapor-diffusion sampler locations, potentiometric-surface contours for the surficial aquifer, and directions of ground-water flow, Ashland, Massachusetts
31. The extent of contaminants in ground water and concentrations of chlorobenzene and trichloroethene detected in passive-vapor-diffusion samples, Nyanza Chemical Waste Dump Superfund Site, Ashland, Massachusetts, February 1999
32. Locations of the Centredale Manor Restoration Project Superfund Site and study area, North Providence, Rhode Island
33. Concentrations of trichloroethene plus tetrachloroethene in passive-vapor-diffusion samplers installed in channel-bottom sediments of the Woonasquatucket River, a former mill raceway, and a cross channel, Centredale Manor Restoration Project Superfund Site, North Providence, Rhode Island, September 1999
1A-1D. Graphs showing:
1A. Changes in concentrations of volatile organic compounds in passive-vapor-diffusion samples over time at 21 degrees Celsius under laboratory conditions in a mixed solution of volatile organic compounds with aqueous concentrations less than 100 micrograms per liter
1B. Changes in concentrations of volatile organic compounds in passive-vapor-diffusion samples over time at 10 degrees Celsius under laboratory conditions in a mixed solution of volatile organic compounds with aqueous concentrations ranging from 430 to 570 micrograms per liter
1C. Ratio over time of (A) toluene and (B) tetrachloroethene gas concentrations by volume (parts per billion) in passive-vapor-diffusion samplers to aqueous concentrations by mass (210 to 310 micrograms per liter of toluene and 110 to 340 micrograms per liter of tetrachloroethene) in a test solution containing the diffusion samplers in 1.9-liter jars at average temperatures of 22.4, 9.5, and 1.4 degrees Celsius
1D. Changes in trichloroethene concentrations over time in passive-vapor-diffusion samples from contaminated ground-water discharge areas in South Carolina in (Site 1) Coastal Plain sediments and (Site 2) Piedmont sediments with differing sediment types and vertical hydraulic gradients
1. Volatile organic compounds detected under field conditions with passive-vapor-diffusion samplers at contaminated ground-water-discharge areas in New England and South Carolina and the range of minimum reporting limits for these compounds at the nine New England sites
2. Superfund sites in New England where passive-vapor-diffusion samplers were used to detect and delineate volatile organic compounds in bottom sediment of surface-water bodies, hydrologic setting, principal compounds detected, and maximum vapor concentration measured
3. Number and distribution of duplicate samples from the nine study sites in New England
4. Relative percent differences of volatile organic compound (VOC) concentrations in duplicate samples where a VOC was detected above the reporting limit in both samples from the nine study sites in New England
1A. Average concentrations and standard deviations of volatile organic compounds in passive-vapor-diffusion samplers over time at 21 degrees Celsius under laboratory conditions in 480-milliliter test jars with spiked concentrations less than100 micrograms per liter
1B. Average concentrations and standard deviation of volatile organic compounds in passive-vapor-diffusion samplers over time at 10 degrees Celsius under laboratory conditions in 1.9-liter test jars with spiked concentrations ranging from 430 to 570 micrograms per liter
1C. Ratio of concentrations from passive-vapor-diffusion samplers to aqueous-phase concentrations for toluene and tetrachloroethene over time at various temperatures under laboratory conditions in 1.9-liter test jars containing 210 to 310 micrograms per liter of toluene and 110 to 340 micrograms per liter of tetrachloroethene
1D. Average concentrations and standard deviations of trichloroethene over time in passive-vapor-diffusion samples in bottom sediment of streams at contaminated ground-water discharge areas in the Coastal Plain (site 1) and the Piedmont (site 2) of South Carolina, 1998
2A. Typical achievable reporting limits for volatile organic compounds commonly detected in passive-vapor- diffusion samplers from a gas chromatograph equipped with a photoionization detector and an electron capture detector
2B. Vapor concentrations of volatile organic compounds commonly detected with passive-vapor-diffusion samplers in the head space of a 10 micrograms per liter aqueous standard at approximately 0 to 1 degree Celsius
2C. Quality controls, acceptance criteria, and corrective actions