title: Characterization and fingerprinting of soil and groundwater contamination sources around a fuel distribution station in Galicia (NW Spain).
abstract: Soil and groundwater contamination around a fuel distribution station in Tomiño (NW Spain) was evaluated. For this purpose, top and subsoil (up to 6.4 m) and groundwater were sampled around the station, approximately in a 60-m radius. Samples were analysed by HS-SPME-GC-MS to identify and quantify volatile fuel organic compounds (VFOC) (MTBE, ETBE and BTEX) and diesel range organics (DRO). Analysis and fingerprinting data suggested that the contamination of soil and groundwater was provoked by a fuel leak from underground storage tanks. This was reflected by hydrocarbon indices and principal component analysis, which discriminated a direct source of contamination of the subsoil samples around the station. The contaminants probably migrated from tank nearby soils to surrounding soils and leached to groundwater, following a SW direction. Irrigation with contaminated groundwater provoked a severe contamination of topsoils, which were enriched with the lightest components of gasoline and diesel. Fingerprinting also revealed the continuity of the leak, reflected by the presence of volatiles in some samples, which principally appeared in fresh leaks. MTBE was detected in a very high concentration in groundwater samples (up to 690 μg L(-1)), but it was not detected in fresh gasoline. This also evidenced an old source of contamination, probably starting in the mid-1990s, when the use of MTBE in gasoline was regulated.
authors.affiliation: Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, University of Santiago de Compostela, Campus Vida, 15782, Santiago de Compostela, Spain. maria.balseiro@usc.es.
authors.forename: María
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Balseiro-Romero
authors.affiliation: Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, University of Santiago de Compostela, Campus Vida, 15782, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
authors.forename: Felipe
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Macías
authors.affiliation: Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, University of Santiago de Compostela, Campus Vida, 15782, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Monterroso
mesh_terms: D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D005742:Gasoline / Q000032:analysis*; D060587:Groundwater / Q000737:chemistry*; D006838:Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D013030:Spain
chemical_list: D005742:Gasoline; D006838:Hydrocarbons; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants
keywords: DRO; Fingerprinting; Fuel distribution station; Soil and groundwater contamination; Volatile fuel compounds