Chloroethene in Ground Water, Area 2, Operable Unit 2, Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Division Keyport, WA

Summary and Conclusions

Geochemical and chloroethene data indicated that much of the trichloroethene (TCE) and vinyl chloride (VC), and some of the cis-1,2-dichloroethene (cis-DCE) biodegraded in ground water as it flowed beneath and slightly beyond the former Building 957 drum storage area at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Division Keyport, Washington. No apparent TCE biodegradation through any mechanism was indicated at the upgradient margin of the former drum storage area where aerobic ground water was indicated. Substantial reductive dechlorination of TCE and cis-DCE was indicated in the downgradient anaerobic ground water. Reductive dechlorination was definitively indicated by the presence of the daughter products cis-DCE and VC in downgradient wells. Ground-water redox conditions were favorable for biodegradation through microbial oxidation of VC (and cis-DCE to a lesser extent) in downgradient wells, and measured increases in the ratio of cis-DCE to VC over time at those wells was strong evidence for microbial oxidation of VC. All chloroethene concentrations detected in ground water at the former Building 957 drum storage area were less than 20 micrograms per liter. In the three wells where the 2003 TCE or VC concentrations exceeded remediation goals, the concentrations have consistently decreased over time.

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