Movement of Organic Chemicals through Landfill and Hazardous Waste Disposal Sites

This chapter reviews methods for sampling and analysis of groundwater underneath disposal sites, mechanisms of attenuation of organic chemicals, abatement of groundwater contamination, and procedures for monitoring groundwater contamination. The enrichment of less volatile components of gasoline and the absence of more volatile components of gasoline in the leachate suggest that the more volatile components were likely lost by volatilization during disposal or movement through the landfill. Analytical methods used for resource conservation and recovery act groundwater samples are given in EPA publications SW-846. Under the EPA contract laboratory program, groundwater and soil-sediment samples from superfund sites are to be analyzed for a specified list of chemicals known as the target compound list. Organic pollutants found in the leachate samples include industrial and household solvents as well as degradation products of natural and anthropogenic chemicals. Occurrences and concentrations of target compound list organic chemicals collected under USEPA's contract laboratory program from suspected hazardous waste sites.