Geology topics

D.E. Troutman

Publications and source records attributed to D.E. Troutman.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2002

Migration of wood-preserving chemicals in contaminated groundwater in a sand aquifer at Pensacola, Florida

Operation of a wood-preserving facility for nearly 80 years at Pensacola, FL, contaminated the near-surface groundwater with creosote and pentachlorophenol. The major source of aquifer contamination was unlined surface impoundments that were in direct hydraulic contact with the groundwater. Episodes of overtopping the impoundments and overland flow of treatment liquor and waste were also significant to the migration and contamination of the groundwater. Solutes contaminating the ground-water are mainly naphthalene and substituted phenols. Sorption did not influence retardation of solutes in transport in the groundwater. Phenol and the mono substituted methylphenols appear to be undergoing bio-transformation. Pentachlorophenol (PCP) was not found in significant concentrations in the groundwater possibly because the solubility of PCP is approximately 5 mg/L at pH 6, near the average acidity for the groundwater.

Florida↗

USGS1985

Reconnaissance of selected organic contaminants in effluent and ground water at fifteen municipal wastewater treatment plants in Florida, 1983- 84

Results of a 1983-84 reconnaissance of 15 municipal wastewater treatment plants in Florida indicated that effluent from most of the plants contains trace concentrations of volatile organic compounds. Chloroform was detected in the effluent at 11 of the 15 plants and its common occurrence was likely the result of chlorination. The maximum concentration of chloroform detected in the effluent sampled was 120 micrograms/L. Detectable concentrations of selected organophosphorus insecticides were also common. For example, diazinon was detected in the effluent at 12 of the 15 plants with a maximum concentration of 1.5 micrograms/L. Organochlorine insecticides, primarily lindane, were detected in the effluent at 8 of the 15 plants with a maximum concentration of 1.0 micrograms/L. Volatile compounds, primarily chloroform, were detected in water from monitor wells at four plants and organophosphorus insecticides, primarily diazinon, were present in the groundwater at three treatment plants. Organochlorine insecticides were not detected in any samples from monitor wells. Based on the limited data available, this cursory reconaissance suggests that the organic contaminants commonly occurring in the effluent of many of the treatment plants are not transported into the local groundwater. (Author 's abstract)

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗

USGS1984

Phenolic contamination in the sand-and-gravel aquifer from a surface impoundment of wood treatment wastes, Pensacola, Florida

Creosote and pentachlorophenol wastewaters discharged to unlined surface impoundments have resulted in groundwater contamination in the vicinity of an industrial site near Pensacola, Florida. Total phenol concentrations of 36,000 microgm/liter have been detected 40 ft below land surface in a test hole 100 ft south of an overflow impoundment but less than 10 microgm/liter 90 ft below land surface. Samples collected in test holes 1,350 ft downgradient from the surface impoundments and 100 ft north of Pensacola Bay, above and immediately below a clay lens, indicate that phenol contaminated groundwater may not be discharging directly into Pensacola Bay. Phenol concentrations exceeding 20 microgm/liter were detected in samples from a drainage ditch discharging directly into Bayou Chico. Microbiological data collected near the test site suggest that an anaerobic methanogenic ecosystem contributes to a reduction in phenol concentrations in groundwater. A laboratory study using bacteria isolated from the study site indicates that phenol, 2-methylphenol, and 3-methylphenol are significantly degraded and that methanogenesis reduces total phenol concentrations in laboratory digestors by 45%. Pentachlorophenol may inhibit methanogenesis at concentrations exceeding 0.45 milligm/liter. (USGS)

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗