Shih Tom, Rong Yue, Harmon Thomas, Suffet Mel
Environmental Science and Engineering Program, University of California at Los Angeles, 46-081 CHS, Box 951771, Los Angeles, California 90095-1772, USA.
Environ Sci Technol. 2004 Jan 1;38(1):42-8. doi: 10.1021/es0304650.
The environmental behavior of fuel oxygenates (other than methyl tert-butyl ether [MTBE]) is poorly understood because few data have been systematically collected and analyzed. This study evaluated the potential for groundwater resource contamination by fuel hydrocarbons (FHCs) and oxygenates (e.g., tert-butyl alcohol [TBA], tertamyl methyl ether [TAME], diisopropyl ether [DIPE], ethyl tert-butyl ether [ETBE], and MTBE) by examining their occurrence, distribution, and spatial extent in groundwater beneath leaking underground fuel tank (LUFT) facilities, focusing on data collected from over 7200 monitoring wells in 868 LUFT sites from the greater Los Angeles, CA, region. Excluding the composite measure total petroleum hydrocarbons as gasoline (TPHG), TBA has the greatestsite maximum (geometric mean) groundwater concentration among the study analytes; therefore, its presence needs to be confirmed at LUFT sites so that specific cleanup strategies can be developed. The alternative ether oxygenates (DIPE, TAME, and ETBE) are less likely to be detected in groundwater beneath LUFT facilities in the area of California studied and when detected are present at lower dissolved concentrations than MTBE, benzene, or TBA. Groundwater plume length was used as an initial indicator of the threat of contamination to drinking water resources. Approximately 500 LUFT sites were randomly selected and analyzed. The results demonstrate MTBE to pose the greatest problem, followed by TBA and benzene. The alternative ether oxygenates were relatively localized and indicated lesser potential for groundwater resource contamination. However, all indications suggest the alternative ether oxygenates would pose groundwater contamination threats similar to MTBE if their scale of usage is expanded. Plume length data suggest that in the absence of a completely new design and construction of the underground storage tank (UST) system, an effective management strategy may involve placing greater emphasis on UST program for ensuring adequate enforcement and compliance with existing UST regulations.
除甲基叔丁基醚（MTBE）之外的燃料含氧化合物的环境行为还鲜为人知，因为很少有数据得到系统收集和分析。本研究通过考察燃料碳氢化合物（FHCs）和含氧化合物（如叔丁醇[TBA]、甲基叔戊基醚[TAME]、二异丙醚[DIPE]、乙基叔丁基醚[ETBE]以及MTBE）在地下储油罐（LUFT）设施下方地下水中的出现情况、分布和空间范围，评估其对地下水资源造成污染的可能性，重点关注从加利福尼亚州大洛杉矶地区868个LUFT场地的7200多口监测井收集的数据。除作为汽油的总石油烃复合指标（TPHG）外，在所研究的分析物中，TBA在场地中的地下水最大（几何平均）浓度最高；因此，需要在LUFT场地确认其存在，以便制定具体的清理策略。在加利福尼亚州所研究区域的LUFT设施下方的地下水中，不太可能检测到替代醚类含氧化合物（DIPE、TAME和ETBE），而且即便检测到，其溶解浓度也低于MTBE、苯或TBA。地下水羽流长度被用作污染饮用水资源威胁的初步指标。随机选择并分析了约500个LUFT场地。结果表明，MTBE造成的问题最大，其次是TBA和苯。替代醚类含氧化合物相对局限，表明其对地下水资源造成污染的可能性较小。然而，所有迹象表明，如果扩大替代醚类含氧化合物的使用规模，它们将带来与MTBE类似的地下水污染威胁。羽流长度数据表明，在不进行全新的地下储油罐（UST）系统设计和建设的情况下，有效的管理策略可能包括更加强调UST计划，以确保充分执行并遵守现有的UST法规。
