Valence state: The combining capacity of an atom or radical determined by the number of electrons that it will lose, add, or share when it reacts with other atoms.
free product: A NAPL found in the subsurface in sufficient quantity that it can be partially recovered by pumping or gravity drain.
aerobic: Direct aerobic metabolism involves microbial reactions that require oxygen to go forward. The bacteria uses a carbon substrate as the electron donor and oxygen as the electron acceptor. Degradation of contaminants that are susceptible to aerobic degradation but not anaerobic often ceases in the vicinity of the source zone because of oxygen depletion. This can sometimes be reversed by adding oxygen in the form of air (air sparging, bioventing), ozone, or slow oxygen release compound (e.g., ORC(r)).
Aerobic dechlorination may also occur via cometabolism where the dechlorination is incidental to the metabolic activities of the organisms. In this case, contaminants are degraded by microbial enzymes that are metabolizing other organic substrates. Cometabolic dechlorination does not appear to produce energy for the organism. At pilot- or full-scale treatment, cometabolic and direct dechlorination may be indistinguishable, and both processes may contribute to contaminant removal. For aerobic cometabolism to occur there must be sufficient oxygen and a suitable substrate which allows the microbe to produce the appropriate enzyme. These conditions may be present naturally but often in the presence of a source area oxygen and a substrate such as methane or propane will need to be introduced.
Adapted from US. EPA 2006 Engineering Issue: In Situ and Ex Situ Biodegradation Technologies for Remediation of Contaminated Sites
anaerobic: Direct anaerobic metabolism involves microbial reactions occurring in the absence of oxygen and encompasses many processes, including fermentation, methanogenesis, reductive dechlorination, sulfate-reducing activities, and denitrification. Depending on the contaminant of concern, a subset of these activities may be cultivated. In anaerobic metabolism, nitrate, sulfate, carbon dioxide, oxidized metals, or organic compounds may replace oxygen as the electron acceptor.
Anaerobic dechlorination also may occur via cometabolism where the dechlorination is incidental to the metabolic activities of the organisms. In this case, contaminants are degraded by microbial enzymes that are metabolizing other organic substrates. Cometabolic dechlorination does not appear to produce energy for the organism. At pilot- or full-scale treatment, cometabolic and direct dechlorination may be indistinguishable, and both processes may contribute to contaminant removal.
Quoted from US. EPA 2006 Engineering Issue: In Situ and Ex Situ Biodegradation Technologies for Remediation of Contaminated Sites
architecture: "Architecture" refers to the physical distribution of the contaminant in the subsurface. Residuals that take the form of long thin ganglia or small dispersed globules provide a larger surface area that will dissolve much faster than if the same amount of liquid were concentrated in a competent pool.
Sources: For purposes of this discussion, a DNAPL source zone includes the zone that encompasses the entire subsurface volume in which DNAPL is present either at residual saturation or as "pools" of accumulation above confining units. In addition, the DNAPL source zone includes regions that have come into contact with DNAPL that may be storing contaminant mass as a result of diffusion of DNAPL into the soil or rock matrix.
source zone: For purposes of this discussion, a DNAPL source zone includes the zone that encompasses the entire subsurface volume in which DNAPL is present either at residual saturation or as "pools" of accumulation above confining units. In addition, the DNAPL source zone includes regions that have come into contact with DNAPL that may be storing contaminant mass as a result of diffusion of DNAPL into the soil or rock matrix.
focal ulceration: The process or fact of a localized area being eroded away.
metaplasia of the glandular stomach: A change of cells to a form that does not normally occur in the tissue in which it is found.
hyperplasia of the glandular stomach: A condition in which there is an increase in the number of normal cells in a tissue or organ.
histiocytic: Degenerative.
duodenum: First part of the small intestine.
microcytic: Any abnormally small cell.
squamous cell papillomas: A small solid benign tumor with a clear-cut border that projects above the surrounding tissue.
squamous cell carcinomas: Cancer that begins in squamous cells-thin, flat cells that look under the microscope like fish scales. Squamous cells are found in the tissue that forms the surface of the skin, the lining of hollow organs of the body, and the passages of the respiratory and digestive tracts. Squamous cell carcinomas may arise in any of these tissues.
jejunum: The middle portion of the small intestine, between duodenum and ileum. It represents about 2/5 of the remaining portion of the small intestine below duodenum.
ileum: The distal and narrowest portion of the small intestine.
squamous: Flat cells that look like fish scales.
metaplasia: A condition in which there is a change of one adult cell type to another similar adult cell type.
ossification: The process of creating bone, that is of transforming cartilage (or fibrous tissue) into bone.
clastogenesis: Any process resulting in the breakage of chromosomes.
neoplastic: Abnormal and uncontrolled growth of cells.
ulceration: The process or fact of being eroded away.
leucocytosis: An elevation of the total number of white cells in blood.
neutrophils: A type of white blood cell.
chromodulin: A small protein that binds four trivalent chromium ions.
biomagnification: The increased accumulation and concentration of a contaminant at higher levels of the food chain; organisms higher on the food chain will have larger amounts of contaminants than those lower on the food chain, because the contaminants are not eliminated or broken down into other chemicals within the organisms.
exencephaly: Cerebral tissue herniation through a congenital or acquired defect in the skull.
everted viscera: Rotated body organs in the chest cavity.
To Be Considered: Documents, such as federal or state guidances, that are not legally binding but may be relevant to the topic in question.
gaining: A gaining surface water body is one where groundwater flows into it.
losing: A surface water body is losing when there is a permeable sediment bed that is not in contact with the groundwater allowing the surface water to seep through it.
fluvial: Of or pertaining to flow in rivers and streams.
lacustrine: Of or pertaining to a lake as in lacustrine sediments—sediments at the bottom of a lake.
lipid: Any class of fats that are insoluble in water.
lipophilic: Able to dissolve in lipids—in this case fatty tissue.
organelles: A part of a cell such as mitochondrion, vacuole, or chloroplast that plays a specific role in how the cell functions and membranes.
RfD: The RfD is an estimate of a daily exposure of the human population (including sensitive sub-groups) to a substance that is likely to be without "the appreciable risk of deleterious effects during a lifetime." An RfD is expressed in units of mg/kg-day.
autonomic: That part of the nervous system that controls non-conscious actions such as heart rate, perspiration and digestion.
ataxia: Lack of muscle coordination.
funnel-and-gate configuration: A system where low-permeability walls (the funnel) placed in the saturated zone direct contaminated ground-water toward a permeable treatment zone (the gate)
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Kaiser, M.A., B.S. Larsen, C-P.C. Kao, and R.C. Buck. 2005. Vapor pressures of perfluorooctanoic, -nonanoic, -decanoic, -undecanoic, and -dodecanoic acids. Journal of Chemical and Engineering Data 50(6):1841-1843.
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Millions of tons of trichloroethene (TCE), a widely used industrial solvent, are produced in the United States and abroad. Although its greatest use is in metal degreasing (Howard 1991 and ATSDR 1997), it is used as a solvent for fats, greases, waxes, cellulose ester, ethers, dyes, oils, household cleaners, paints, adhesives; as a refrigerant; heat exchange liquid; fumigant; inhalation analyzer or anesthetic; analgesic; chain terminator for PVC production; extractant in food processing (e.g., for decaffeinated coffee); disinfectant and detergent for skin, minor wounds, and surgical instruments; and chemical intermediate in the production of pesticides, gums, resins, tars, paints, varnishes, and chemicals, such as chloroacetic acid. It also is used for cleaning and drying electronic parts, textile processing, aerospace operations (flushing liquid oxygen), industrial extraction processes, and the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia.
TCE is detected more than any other volatile organic compound at concentrations of concern in ground water and drinking water wells (Zogorski et al. 2006). TCE also is the most widely detected organic chemical at NPL sites. The 2005 Toxics Release Inventory identified 379 facilities that together released an estimated 4,820,926 pounds of TCE to the air in 2005.
The Library of the U.S. Geological Survey provides links to several databases that contain information regarding TCE concentrations in various geographic locations, including water bodies.
This brief groundwater information sheet provides general information (fate and transport, health effects, testing and remediation methods) and identifies where high levels of the compound are found in California. The information is pulled from a variety of sources, and a bibliography is provided.
Handbook of Environmental Fate and Exposure Data for Organic Chemicals, Volume II: Solvents
P. Howard. Lewis Publishers, 1991, 546 pp
This handbook is a compilation of physical, chemical, fate, and transport information on selected organic chemicals.
This study represents EPA's most extensive analysis to date of the occurrence of contaminants in nearly 26,000 public water systems regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act. More than 70% of the data are from 1993 or later.
This profile provides information on human health effects, fate and transport, production, and uses of TCE.
TCE Subregistry
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1997, 335 pp
The subregistry reports on the baseline findings and follow-up activities from the analyses of data collected from participants in the Trichloroethylene (TCE) Subregistry. The TCE Subregistry is part of the National Exposure Registry that the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry created and maintains.
This report summarizes the findings of an investigation of aquifers that supply drinking water to the public. The purpose of the investigation was to determine the presence or absence of 55 volatile organic chemicals in the aquifers.
Millions of tons of trichloroethene (TCE), a widely used industrial solvent, are produced in the United States and abroad. Although its greatest use is in metal degreasing (Howard 1991 and ATSDR 1997), it is used as a solvent for fats, greases, waxes, cellulose ester, ethers, dyes, oils, household cleaners, paints, adhesives; as a refrigerant; heat exchange liquid; fumigant; inhalation analyzer or anesthetic; analgesic; chain terminator for PVC production; extractant in food processing (e.g., for decaffeinated coffee); disinfectant and detergent for skin, minor wounds, and surgical instruments; and chemical intermediate in the production of pesticides, gums, resins, tars, paints, varnishes, and chemicals, such as chloroacetic acid. It also is used for cleaning and drying electronic parts, textile processing, aerospace operations (flushing liquid oxygen), industrial extraction processes, and the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia. 
Groundwater Information Sheet: Trichloroethene (TCE)
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