Changes in contaminant mass discharge from DNAPL source mass depletion: Evaluation at two field sites

Changes in contaminant fluxes resulting from aggressive remediation of dense nonaqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) source zone were investigated at two sites, one at Hill Air Force Base (AFB), Utah, and the other at Ft. Lewis Military Reservation, Washington. Passive Flux Meters (PFM) and a variation of the Integral Pumping Test (IPT) were used to measure fluxes in ten wells installed along a transect down-gradient of the trichloroethylene (TCE) source zone, and perpendicular to the mean groundwater flow direction. At both sites, groundwater and contaminant fluxes were measured before and after the source-zone treatment. The measured contaminant fluxes (J; ML− 2T− 1) were integrated across the well transect to estimate contaminant mass discharge (MD; MT− 1) from the source zone. Estimated MD before source treatment, based on both PFM and IPT methods, were ~ 76 g/day for TCE at the Hill AFB site; and ~ 640 g/day for TCE, and ~ 206 g/day for cis-dichloroethylene (DCE) at the Ft. Lewis site. TCE flux measurements made 1 year after source treatment at the Hill AFB site decreased to ~ 5 g/day. On the other hand, increased fluxes of DCE, a degradation byproduct of TCE, in tests subsequent to remediation at the Hill AFB site suggest enhanced microbial degradation after surfactant flooding. At the Ft. Lewis site, TCE mass discharge rates subsequent to remediation decreased to ~ 3 g/day for TCE and ~ 3 g/day for DCE ~ 1.8 years after remediation. At both field sites, PFM and IPT approaches provided comparable results for contaminant mass discharge rates, and show significant reductions (> 90%) in TCE mass discharge as a result of DNAPL mass depletion from the source zone.