The Measurement of C19-C36 Aliphatic Hydrocarbons at a Sediment Superfund Site Using the MADEP Extractable Petroleum Hydrocarbon Method: Considerations for Data quality and Usability

Environmental Forensics
Oral Presentation

Prepared by E. Litman1, D. Blue2, K. Rousteau1, A. Uhler1
1 - NewFields Environmental Forensics, 300 Ledgewood Place, Suite 205, Rockland, MA, 02370, United States
2 - Doug Blue Consulting, Ltd, , , United States


Contact Information: [email protected]; 781-424-5731

ABSTRACT

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MADEP) extractable petroleum hydrocarbon (EPH) method is being used to measure C19-C36 aliphatic hydrocarbons (HC), as well as other aliphatic and aromatic fractions, in sediments at a Superfund site in New York (NY). The EPH method was developed to measure aromatic and aliphatic HC fractions in soil for use in human health risk assessment (HHR) at relatively high concentrations (e.g., MADEP HHR C19-C36 aliphatic HC soil screening levels are 3,000 mg/kg or greater). However, in the case of the NY Superfund site, EPH data are being evaluated at low part per million concentrations that have not been thoroughly validated in complex sediment matrices. Measurement of EPH fractions in sediments are inherently complicated due to factors that include the composition of sediment matrices and method limitations such as instrument sensitivity, laboratory interferences (e.g., column bleed), and hydrocarbon range integration challenges. As such, the EPH method needs to be carefully validated prior to measuring C19-C36 Aliphatic hydrocarbons in sediments at low, ecologically relevant concentrations. This presentation describes the results of a laboratory method detection limit (MDL) study that was performed to evaluate the sensitivity, accuracy, and precision of C19-C36 Aliphatic hydrocarbon measurements in sediments using the MADEP method. This MDL study uses aliphatic enriched mineral and lubricating reference oils as spiking materials to provide appropriate proxies for the types of complicated aliphatic mixtures encountered at contaminated sediment sites. The MDL study uses sodium sulfate, an uncontaminated marine sediment, and a contaminated site sediment as MDL spiking matrices to evaluate the effect of the sediment matrix on the accuracy and precision of C19-C36 Aliphatic measurements. This presentation will focus on issues identified in making reliable low concentration EPH measurements and will discuss implications for data usability and interpretation of EPH data from contaminated sediments.