BIOGEOCHEMICAL ASSESSMENT OF NATURAL ATTENUATION OF JP-4-CONTAMINATEDGROUND-WATER IN THE PRESENCE OF FLUORINATED SURFACTANTS

The biogeochemistry of the natural attenuation of petroleum-contaminat ed ground water was investigated in a field study. The focus of the st udy was a fire training site located on Tyndall Air Force Base in Flor ida. The site has been used by the Air Force for approximately 11 year s in fire fighting exercises. An on-site above-ground tank of JP-4 pro vided fuel for setting controlled fires for the exercises. Various amo unts of water and aqueous film forming foams (AFFF) were applied to ex tinguish the fires. The sources of contamination included leaks from p ipelines transporting the fuel, leaks from an oil/water separator and runoff and percolation from the fire fighting activities. Previous inv estigations had identified jet fuel contamination at the site, however , no active remediation efforts have been conducted to date. The goal of this study was to use biogeochemical monitoring data to delineate r edox zones within the site and to identify evidence of natural attenua tion of JP-4 contamination. In addition to identifying several hydroca rbon metabolites, fluorinated surfactants (AFFF) were detected down-gr adient of the hydrocarbon plume. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.