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)
Hekster, F.M., R.W.P.M. Laane, and P. de Voogt. 2003. Environmental and toxicity effects of perfluoroalkylated substances. Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 179:99-121.
Higgins, C. and R. Luthy. 2006. Sorption of perfluorinated surfactants on sediments. Environmental Science & Technology 40(23):7251-7256.
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.
Kauck, E.A. and A.R. Diesslin. 1951. Some properties of perfluorocarboxylic acids. Industrial and Engineering Chemical Research 43(10):2332-2334.
Trichloroethylene is a man-made chemical that does not occur naturally in the environment. The clear, colorless, nonflammable liquid evaporates quickly and has a sweet chloroform-like scent. The chemical is used primarily as a large volume degreasing agent for metal and electronic parts. It also has found use as an extractant for oils, waxes, and fats, a solvent for cellulose esters and ethers, a dry cleaning fluid, refrigerant and heat exchange fluid, fumigant, carrier agent in paints and adhesives, a scourant for textiles, and as a feedstock for manufacturing organic chemicals. In homes, trichloroethylene can be found in typewriter correction fluid, paint, spot removers, carpet-cleaning fluids, metal cleaners, and varnishes. Trichloroethylene also is known as trichloroethene, and is commonly referred to as TCE.
Regulation of TCE by the EPA began in the 1980s. It is regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act, which sets Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) for TCE. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration sets a limit for exposure to TCE in workplace air.
Industrial processes are the main sources of TCE in the environment. It is commonly found in air and water. Once it is released into the air, TCE will break down within a week or less. TCE breaks down more slowly in surface water and soil than in air, and it can pass through the soil into underground water. Most TCE in air comes from metal degreasing activities associated with tool and automobile production. TCE also can enter ground water and surface water from industrial discharges or from improper disposal of industrial wastes at landfills. TCE has been found in many drinking water supplies in the United States.
The health effects from TCE differ depending on the amount of TCE to which a person is exposed and how long the exposure lasts. Levels of TCE in the normal environment generally are well below levels of those in the workplace. TCE exposure can be associated with several adverse health effects, including neurotoxicity, immunotoxicity, developmental toxicity, liver toxicity, kidney toxicity, endocrine effects, and several forms of cancer.
Wastewater or municipal water supply treatment systems that rely on coagulation, sedimentation, precipitative softening, filtration, and chlorination are ineffective for reducing concentrations of TCE to nonhazardous levels. Other methods are required for remediation of water contaminated with TCE if the water is to be used for human consumption. TCE usually is remediated through pump and treat, using either air stripping or granular activated carbon, but there are many innovative cleanup methods—physical, chemical, thermal, and biological—that have been applied successfully to remove TCE from soil and ground water or to convert it into nonhazardous compounds.
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.
Groundwater Information Sheet: Trichloroethene (TCE)
