A model study using fluorescein as a fluorescent probe for hydrocarbon contaminated groundwater

The quantity of gasoline and middle distillate fuels in transit and storage makes these fuels the most common hydrocarbon contaminants in groundwater. Groundwater cart be contaminated by hydrocarbons from surface spills, tran sportation accidents, leaking above ground storage ranks, leaking undergrou nd service station tanks, and leaking interstate pipelines. Groundwater flo ws can be tracked by many methods, but fluorescence detection of dyes is bo th simple and easy. Fluorescein is a dye that has been successfully used fo r tracing groundwater flow. This dye is easily detectable at the 10(-11) M concentration and is relatively nontoxic. Results from this study showed th at gasoline-contaminated water does not reduce the fluorescence intensity o f fluorescein, but that a like amount of middle distillate does diminish th e fluorescence intensity of fluorescein.