Case study: Natural attenuation of a trichloroethene plume at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey
No abstract available.
Geology topics
Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including Picatinny Arsenal.
No abstract available.
No abstract available.
This report presents the results of a study to determine whether shallow ground water at Picatinny Arsenal Morris County, New Jersey, has been con- taminated as a result of operations at the open burning area, which is used for burning of waste explosives and materials contaminated with explosives. Results of previous investigations indicate that the soil in this area is contaminated with metals and organic compounds. Twenty-seven wells were sampled for analysis for inorganic constituents, nutrients, and explosive compounds. Selected wells also were sampled for analysis for base/neutral- and acid-extractable compounds, pesticides, volatile organic compounds, and dioxin and furan compounds. Surface-water and streambed- material samples were collected at three sites in Green Pond Brook. Water-level measurements indicate that ground-water flow generally is nearly horizontal and toward Green Pond Brook. The average velocity of the ground water is estimated to be 0.03 to 1.8 feet per day. Concentrations of iron and manganese in ground-water samples from the unconfined aquifer were consistently greater than U.S. Environmental Protection Agency secondary drinking-water regulations. Because similarly high concentrations of these constituents have been found in ground-water samples at the arsenal, they are not considered to be a consequence of activities at the open burning area. Contaminants from the open burning area appear to be contributing to elevated concentratons of lead, zinc, and explosive com- pounds found in the streambed material. Other trace element and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons probably are derived from both the open burning area and upstream sources. Volatile organic compounds were detected in surface-water samples at low concentrations, although most were found upstream from the open burning area. No inorganic or organic constituents were detected in ground-water or surface-water samples in concentrations that exceeded U.S. Environmental Protection Agency primary drinking-water regulations.
No abstract available.
A new method of collecting samples of unsaturated-zone water for quantitative analysis for a volatile organic compound, trichloroethene (TCE), was compared to three other, previously described sampling methodologies in the laboratory and in the field. In the laboratory, prepared water samples containing TCE in a known concentration (20 µg/L) were sampled repeatedly by using each of the four methods to quantify method precision and accuracy. To compare the four methods in the field, unsaturated-zone water above a TCE-contaminated water-table aquifer was transferred from a depth of 2 m to land surface with 0.15-m-long suction lysimeters attached to 1.85-m lengths of stainless-steel tubing. Statistical analyses of the laboratory and field data indicate that the new method, which involves collecting the water samples in gas-tight glass syringes, is superior to the other three methods for the quantitative sampling and analysis of TCE on the basis of its high precision and accuracy and ease of use. This method was used to collect additional samples from the field site to quantify the spatial variability of TCE concentrations in the unsaturated-zone water. Results of analysis of variance of the data indicate that the spatial concentration variability is important, and that differences in TCE concentration are statistically significant for horizontal distances less than 3.6 m.
The water resources of Picatinny Arsenal in northern New Jersey are described using the results of 1,129 analyses of groundwater , including 522 determinations of inorganic constituents and 607 determinations of organic constituents. Water samples were collected from 56 wells on the site from 1958 through 1985. Of these wells, 50 are screened in stratified drift aquifers and 6 are in bedrock. Samples were collected and analyzed by a total of four agencies: one State, one Federal, and two private. Of the 1,129 samples, 51 were collected and analyzed by the U.S. Geological Survey. The data on inorganic constituents exhibit much variability. Specific conductance ranges from 40 to 2,150 microsiemens per centimeter at 25 degrees C, pH ranges from 2.9 units to 10 units, and dissolved solids ranges from 51 to 1,210 milligrams per liter. Trace elements that display wide variations in concentration ranges are iron (<2 to 540,000 micrograms/L), manganese (<1 to 55,000 micrograms/L), and zinc (<3 to 1,900 micrograms/L). The organic compounds with the widest variations in concentration are: 1 ,2-transdichloroethylene (<1 to 542 micrograms/L), tetrachloroethylene (<1 to 386 micrograms/L), 1,1 ,1-trichloroethane (<1 to 1,780 micrograms/L), and trichloroethylene (<1 to 25,000 micrograms/L).