Skip Links

USGS - science for a changing world

Open-File Report 2011–1043

Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Department of the Army Environmental and Natural Resources Management Office of the U.S. Army Signal Center and Fort Gordon

Assessment of Soil-Gas, Seep, and Soil Contamination at the North Range Road Landfill, Fort Gordon, Georgia, 2008–2009

By James E. Landmeyer, William F. Falls, W. Hagan Ratliff, and John B. Wellborn

Thumbnail image of report cover

ABSTRACT

Soil gas, seeps, and soil were assessed for contaminants at the North Range Road Landfill at Fort Gordon, Georgia, from October 2008 to September 2009. The assessment included delineating organic contaminants present in soil-gas samples beneath the area estimated to be the landfill and in water samples collected from three seeps at the base of the landfill. Inorganic contaminants were determined in three seep samples and in soil samples. This assessment was conducted to provide environmental contamination data to Fort Gordon pursuant to requirements for the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Part B Hazardous Waste Permit process.

All soil-gas samples collected contained total petroleum hydrocarbons above the method detection level. The highest total petroleum hydrocarbon mass detected was nearly 50 micrograms (µg) in a soil-gas sample from one of the three seeps. The highest BTEX mass detected was 0.83 µg in a soil-gas sample collected near the same seep. Some soil-gas samples had perchloroethylene (known as PCE) mass greater than the method detection level of 0.01 microgram. The highest PCE mass detected was 0.73 µg, and PCE mass was detected in soil gas in areas upgradient of the seeps and indicates that the seep contamination may be related to previous waste-disposal activities upgradient of the seeps.

No organic or semivolatile compounds in the seep samples were detected above their respective maximum contaminant levels established in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency National Primary Drinking Water Standards. PCE was detected in water from all three seeps at concentrations between 0.85 and 0.95 microgram per liter. Trimethylsilanol was detected in water collected from all three seeps and may be related to the degradation of silicone-based materials commonly disposed of in landfills.

Inorganic concentrations in water samples from one seep did not exceed any maximum contaminant levels in the National Secondary Drinking Water Standards. In water from one seep, however, iron was detected at 865 micrograms per liter, which exceeds the maximum contaminant level for iron in the Secondary Drinking Water Standard, and in water from the other seep, iron and manganese were detected at 492,000 and 10,700 micrograms per liter, repectively, both of which exceed the respective maximum contaminant levels for the Secondary Drinking Water Standard. Water from one of the seeps had concentrations of cadmium, copper, and zinc that exceed Georgia standards for in-stream water quality, and concentrations of arsenic and lead that exceed their respective maximum contaminant levels for the Primary Drinking Water Standards.

Inorganic concentrations in all four soil samples did not exceed regional screening levels established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Barium concentrations, however, were two to three times higher than the background concentrations reported in similar Coastal Plain sediments of South Carolina.

First posted March 1, 2011

For additional information contact:
Director
USGS South Carolina Water Science Center
Stephenson Center, Suite 129
720 Gracern Road
Columbia, SC 29210–7651
phone: 803–750–6100 http://sc.water.usgs.gov/

Part or all of this report is presented in Portable Document Format (PDF); the latest version of Adobe Reader or similar software is required to view it. Download the latest version of Adobe Reader, free of charge.


Suggested citation:

Landmeyer, J.E., Falls, W.F., Ratliff, W.H., and Wellborn, J.B., 2011, Assessment of soil-gas, seep, and soil contamination at the North Range Road Landfill, Fort Gordon, Georgia, 2008–2009: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2011–1043, 21 p.



Contents

Abstract

Introduction

Purpose and Scope

Description of the Study Area

Methods

Passive Soil-Gas Survey

Seep Samples

Soil Samples

Results

Passive Soil-Gas Survey

Seep Samples

Soil Samples

Summary

References Cited


Accessibility FOIA Privacy Policies and Notices

Take Pride in America logo USA.gov logo U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://pubsdata.usgs.gov/pubs/of/2011/1043/index.html
Page Contact Information: USGS Publications Team
Page Last Modified: Wednesday, 07-Dec-2016 23:34:39 EST