Occurrence of organic pollutants in recovered soil fines from constructionand demolition waste

The objective of this study was to characterize recovered soil fines from c onstruction and demolition (C&D) waste recycling facilities for trace organ ic pollutants. Over a period of 18 months, five sampling trips were made to 14 C&D, waste recycling facilities in Florida. Screened soil fines were co llected from older stockpiles and newly generated piles at the sites. The s amples were analyzed for the total concentration (mg/kg) of a series of vol atile organic compound (VOCs) and semi-volatile organic compounds (semi-VOC s). The synthetic precipitation leaching procedure (SPLP) test was also per formed to evaluate the leachability of the trace organic chemicals. During the total analysis only a few volatile organic compounds were commonly foun d in the samples (trichlorofluoromethane, toluene, 4-isopropyltoluene, trim ethylbenzene, xylenes, and methylene chloride). A total of nine VOCs were d etected in the leaching test. Toluene showed the highest leachability among the compounds (61.3-92.0%), while trichlorofluoromethane, the most commonl y detected compound from both the total and leaching tests, resulted in the lowest leachability (1.4-39.9%). For the semi-VOC analysis, three base-neu tral semi-VOC compounds (bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate, butyl benzyl phthalate , and di-n-butyl phthalate) and several PAHs (acenaphthene, pyrene, fluoran thene, and phenanthrene) were commonly detected in C&D fines samples. These compounds also leached during the SPLP leaching test (0.1-25%). No acid ex tractable compounds, pesticides, or PCBs were detected. The results of this study were further investigated to assess risk from land applied recovered soil fines by comparing total and leaching concentrations of recovered soi l fines samples to risk-based standards. The results of this indicate that the organic chemicals in recovered soil fines from C&D debris recycling fac ilities were not of a major concern in terms of human risk and leaching ris k to groundwater under reuse and contact scenarios. (C) 2001 Elsevier Scien ce Ltd. All rights reserved.