Instructor: Dr. Ramon Aravena (University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada)
Audio: Recorded from a live Internet Seminar
Duration: 1 Hour
Price: $149
Abstract: Chlorinated solvents (e.g. PCE, TCE, cis-DCE, 1,2 DCA) and petroleum hydrocarbons (e.g. BTEX, MTBE) are the most common organic contaminants found in groundwater. Key questions that need to be address in studies of contaminant plumes in groundwater included evaluation of plumes sources and processes that affect contaminant concentration along the groundwater flow system. The most common approaches used to deal with these issues include detailed hydrogeological evaluation, long term monitoring of the contaminant plume, evaluation of redox conditions and microcosm experiments. Another tool that has been recently proposed in the field of organic contaminants is the isotope fingerprinting approach. The main contributions of the isotope approach are in the areas of fingerprinting sources of contaminant plumes, natural attenuation of organic compounds in groundwater and monitoring remediation technologies. This talk will discuss the rationale behind the isotope approach and the application of the isotope tool will be illustrate using laboratory and field studies. Most of the discussion will be focus on chlorinated solvents.
