Re: BTEX contamination

[isisGU@hamp.hampshire.edu]

Posting from ISIS Guest Account <isisGU@hamp.hampshire.edu>

Don,

I'm interested in the environmental fate of BTEX and related health risks. 
I work on Westover AFB, where (as you may have heard) Air Force Center for
Environmental Excellence (AFCEE) wants to run pilot tests of an "Intrinsic
Remediation" protocol at two JP4-contaminated fire training areas. 

But the technical info conflicts. For example, regarding soil-borne and
dissolved benzene, AFCEE and USAF consultants claim that even aerobic
biodegradation is relatively fast and effective. My groundwater
decision-support database (OASIS, outdated to say the least) reports a
soil half-life of under 1 month. 

What sources suggest that benzene is so slow to degrade in a natural
environment?

Jeffrey Green

Institute for Science & Interdisciplinary Studies
Prescott House C-5, 893 West Street
Amherst, MA 01002-5001
Phone (413)582-5582
Fax (413)582-5448
isis@hampshire.edu