Underground Storage Tanks

The resources below provide information on the generation, transport, and fate of petroleum vapors in the subsurface.

• Amos, Richard, K. Ulrich Mayer, Barbara Bekins, Geoffrey Delin, and Randi Williams. 2005. Use of Dissolved and Vapor-Phase Gases to Investigate Methanogenic Degradation of Petroleum Hydrocarbon Contamination in the Subsurface. Water Resources Research 41.
  Describes the methanogenic degradation of petroleum hydrocarbon contamination that is occurring at a site in Bemidji, Minnesota.
• Brenner, David. 2010. Results of a Long-Term Study of Vapor Intrusion at Four Large Buildings at the NASA Ames Research Center (PDF). Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association 60:747-758. (12 pp, 569K)
  A study of vapor intrusion (both petroleum and chlorinated) into large industrial buildings. Benzene in indoor air was found to originate from outdoor air, rather than from vapor intrusion from the subsurface.
• Bruce, Lyle, Arati Kolhatkar, and James Cuthbertson. 2010. Comparison of BTEX Attenuation Rates Under Anaerobic Conditions (PDF). International Journal of Soil, Sediment and Water 3(2). (17 pp, 13.1MB)
  Describes the rates of natural attenuation of BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene) compounds at four sites in the Midwest. Toluene attenuated at the highest rate, followed by benzene, xylene, and ethylbenzene.
• Bruce, Lyle, Arati Kolhatkar, Angela Strain, John Grams, Wayne Hutchinson, and Calvin Alexander. 2007. Characterizing Anaerobic Degradation of Hydrocarbons in a Fractured Karst Aquifer in Central Missouri. Presented at the Petroleum Hydrocarbons and Organic Chemicals in Ground Water: Prevention, Detection, and Remediation Conference in Houston, Texas.
  Provides evidence that petroleum contamination in a fractured karst aquifer at a site in central Missouri is naturally degrading anaerobically.
• Davis, G.B., B.M. Patterson, and M.G. Trefry. 2009. Evidence for Instantaneous Oxygen-Limited Biodegradation of Petroleum Hydrocarbon Vapors in the Subsurface (PDF). Ground Water Monitoring and Remediation 29:126-137. (12 pp, 331K)
  Reports the results of subsurface sampling of petroleum hydrocarbon vapor and oxygen concentrations at seven sites in Australia. The authors developed a model of rapid reaction of oxygen and hydrocarbon vapors to explain the observed depth profiles.
• DeHate, Robin, Giffe Johnson, and Raymond Harbison. 2011. Risk Characterization of Vapor Intrusion in Former Manufactured Gas Plant Sites. Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology 59:353-359.
  Evaluated the cancer and non-cancer risks from BTEX vapor intrusion at 36 commercial and residential properties on or near three former manufactured gas plants. No increased public health risks were identified.
• DeVaull, George, Robbie Ettinger, and John Gustafson. 2002. Chemical Vapor Intrusion from Soil or Groundwater to Indoor Air: Significance of Unsaturated Zone Biodegradation of Aromatic Hydrocarbons. Soil and Sediment Contamination 11:625-641.
  Discusses aerobic biodegradation of aromatic hydrocarbons, and its impact on PVI.
• DeVaull, George. 2007. Indoor Vapor Intrusion with Oxygen-Limited Biodegradation for a Subsurface Gasoline Source. Environmental Science and Technology 41:3241-3248.
  Presents a mathematical model that simulates PVI and includes aerobic biodegradation.
• Fischer, Marc, Abra Bentley, Kristie Dunkin, Alfred Hodgson, William Nazaroff, Richard Sextro, and Joan Daisey. 1996. Factors Affecting Indoor Air Concentrations of Volatile Organic Compounds at a Site of Subsurface Gasoline Contamination. Environmental Science and Technology 30:2948-2957.
  This field study of a PVI site found that indoor air concentrations were about six orders of magnitude lower than soil gas concentrations, due to biodegradation, a partial physical barrier, and building ventilation.
• Hawthorne, Steven, Nick Azzolina, and John Finn. 2008. Tracing Contributions of Benzene from Outdoor to Indoor Air. Environmental Forensics 9:96-106.
  Evaluated data from three sites with subsurface benzene contamination. Comparison of benzene:tracer ratios from indoor air, outdoor air, and soil gas samples demonstrated that indoor air benzene was primarily contributed by outdoor air and not by soil-vapor intrusion.
• Hers, Ian, Jim Atwater, Loretta Li, and Reidar Zapf-Gilje. 2000. Evaluation of Vadose Zone Biodegradation of BTX Vapours. Journal of Contaminant Hydrology 46:233-264. A two-dimensional numerical model that takes into account diffusion, advection, sorption, biodegradation, and the presence of a building floor slab.
• Johnson, Paul, Paul Lundegard, and Zhuang Liu. 2006. Source Zone Natural Attenuation at Petroleum Hydrocarbon Spill Sites-I: Site-Specific Assessment Approach. Ground Water Monitoring and Remediation 26:82-92.
  Focuses on the site-specific assessment of source zone natural attenuation (SZNA) at petroleum spill sites, including the confirmation that SZNA is occurring, estimation of current SZNA rates, and anticipation of SZNA impact on future ground water quality.
• Kristensen, Andreas H., Kaj Henriksen, Lars Mortensen, Kate M. Scow, and Per Moldrup. 2010. Soil Physical Constraints on Intrinsic Biodegradation of Petroleum Vapors in a Layered Subsurface. Vadose Zone Journal 9:137-147.
  Used laboratory and field tests to evaluate the biodegradation of petroleum vapors in different types of soil, and under varying moisture levels.
• Kristensen, Andreas, Tjalfe Poulsen, Lars Mortensen, and Per Moldrup. 2010. Variability of Soil Potential for Biodegradation of Petroleum Hydrocarbons in a Heterogeneous Subsurface. Journal of Hazardous Materials 179:573-580.
  Analyzed soil samples from an area contaminated with petroleum in order to study the spatial variability of factors affecting natural attenuation of hydrocarbons in the unsaturated zone.
• Lahvis, Matthew, Arthur Baehr, and Ronald Baker. 1999. Quantification of Aerobic Biodegradation and Volatilization Rates of Gasoline Hydrocarbons near the Water Table under Natural Attenuation Conditions. Water Resources Research 35:753-765.
  A gasoline spill site in South Carolina was studied to evaluate the effectiveness of aerobic biodegradation and volatilization as a combined natural attenuation pathway.
• Lundegard, Paul and Paul Johnson. 2006. Source Zone Natural Attenuation at Petroleum Hydrocarbon Spill Sites-II: Application to a Former Oil Field. Ground Water Monitoring and Remediation 26:93-106.
  A study of the source zones of petroleum contamination at a former oil field in California. The mechanisms and rates of mass loss were investigated.
• Lundegard, Paul, Paul Johnson, and Paul Dahlen. 2008. Oxygen Transport from the Atmosphere to Soil Gas Beneath a Slab-on-Grade Foundation Overlying Petroleum-Impacted Soil. Environmental Science and Technology 42:5534-5540.
  Quantified the rate of oxygen transport from the atmosphere to the soil gas beneath a building slab.
• Luo, Hong, Paul Dahlen, Paul Johnson, Tom Peargin, and Todd Creamer. 2009. Spatial Variability of Soil-Gas Concentrations near and beneath a Building Overlying Shallow Petroleum Hydrocarbon-Impacted Soils (PDF). Ground Water Monitoring and Remediation 29:81-91. (11 pp, 1.3MB)
  Studied the soil-gas distribution beneath and around a slab-on-grade building overlying shallow petroleum hydrocarbon-impacted coarse alluvial soils.
• Mills, William, Sally Liu, Mark Rigby, and David Brenner. July 2007. Time-Variable Simulation of Soil Vapor Intrusion into a Building with a Combined Crawl Space and Basement. Environmental Science and Technology 41:4993-5001.
  Presents a time-variable one-dimensional model to predict indoor vapor concentrations in a dwelling with a combined basement and crawl space. The model was applied to a building located above ground water contaminated with chlorinated volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
• Olson, David and Richard Corsi. 2002. Fate and Transport of Contaminants in Indoor Air. Journal of Soil and Sediment Contamination 11:583-601.
  Overview of chemical fate in the indoor environment, taking into account vapor intrusion and several other sources of indoor contamination.
• Pasteris, Gabriele, David Werner, Karin Kaufmann, and Patrick Hohener. 2002. Vapor Phase Transport and Biodegradation of Volatile Fuel Compounds in the Unsaturated Zone: A Large-Scale Lysimeter Experiment. Environmental Science and Technology 36:30-39.
  A field experiment to observe the fate and transport of a fuel spill containing 5 percent methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE).
• Popovicova, Jarmila and Mark Brusseau. 1998. Contaminant Mass Transfer during Gas-Phase Transport in Unsaturated Porous Media. Water Resources Research 34:83-92.
  Study to investigate the relative effects of physical heterogeneity, gas-liquid mass transfer, and rate-limited sorption on the gas-phase transport of contaminants (methane, trichlorethylene (TCE), and benzene) in idealized unsaturated homogeneous and heterogeneous porous media.
• Rivetta, Michael, Gary Wealthall, Rachel Dearden, and Todd McAlary. April 2011. Review of Unsaturated-Zone Transport and Attenuation of Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Plumes Leached from Shallow Source Zones. Journal of Contaminant Hydrology 123:130-156.
  Literature review of unsaturated-zone transport and attenuation of petroleum and chlorinated VOC plumes.
• Ruiz, Joaquin, Rafael Bilbao, and Maria Murillo. 1998. Adsorption of Different VOC onto Soil Minerals from Gas Phase: Influence of Mineral, Type of VOC, and Air Humidity (PDF). Environmental Science and Technology 32:1079-1084. (6 pp, 96K)
  This paper shows how humidity affects the adsorption of volatile organic gases onto different types of soils.
• Sanders, Paul and Ian Hers. 2006. Vapor Intrusion in Homes over Gasoline-Contaminated Ground Water in Stafford, New Jersey (PDF). Ground Water Monitoring and Remediation 26:63-72. (10 pp, 212K)
  Investigated the potential for vapor intrusion at a site with a leaking underground gasoline storage tank in New Jersey.
• Tillman, Fred and James Weaver. June 2007. Temporal Moisture Content Variability Beneath and External to a Building and the Potential Effects on Vapor Intrusion Risk Assessment. Science of the Total Environment 379:1-15.
  Investigated the movement of soil moisture next to and beneath a building at a contaminated field site. Results showed that vapor intrusion risk assessments based on moisture content determined from soil cores taken external to a building structure may moderately-to-severely underestimate the vapor intrusion risk from beneath the structure.
• Uhler, Allen, Kevin McCarthy, Stephen Emsbo-Mattingly, Scott Stout, and Gregory Douglas. 2010. Predicting Chemical Fingerprints of Vadose Zone Soil Gas and Indoor Air from Non-Aqueous Phase Liquid Composition. Environmental Forensics 11:342-354.
  Demonstrates use of chemical fingerprints of predicted vapor phase hydrocarbons as compositional benchmarks for reconciling sources of soil gas and indoor air-borne hydrocarbons.
• Won, Doyun, Richard Corsi, and Mike Rynes. 2001. Sorptive Interactions between VOCs and Indoor Materials (PDF). Indoor Air 11:246-256. (38 pp, 122K)
  Describes the adsorption of eight gaseous VOCs onto various indoor materials, such as carpet and gypsum board.