Petroleum Related Contamination

Subsurface spills of petroleum compounds (crude oil, gasoline, and gasoline additives) may be the most frequently cited cause of ground-water contamination. USGS scientists and their partners are developing information and tools essential for effective remediation and long-term management of fuel spills. A major theme of this research is the effectiveness and practical limitations of Natural Attenuation for treatment of sites with petroleum related contamination. Research has been conducted at 4 research sites:

Crude Oil Contamination in a Shallow Outwash Aquifer -- Bemidji, Minnesota

Oxygenated Gasoline -- Laurel Bay, South Carolina

Produced Water -- Osage-Skiatook Petroleum Environmental Research Project, Oklahoma

Gasoline -- Galloway Township, New Jersey [Completed]

Other Program Petroleum Related Research

• Organic Compounds in Near-Surface Environments: Understanding Fate in a Changing Biogeochemical Landscape
• Microbiology and Molecular Ecology of Biogeochemical Cycles in Aquatic Environments
• Multiphase Flow, Transport, Reaction and Biodegradation
• USGS Energy Resources Program -- Produced Waters Database
  (The database includes geochemical data from Osage County, OK.)
• Oil Recovery Performance Monitoring
• Oxygen-Release Compound Remediation Tests
• Vapor Extraction Optimization
• Quanitfying Natural Attenuation at the Plume Scale
• Biodegradation of Charcoal Production Wastes
• Using Phytoremediation to Control Fuel Oxygenate Plumes in Northern Climates

Program Headlines on Petroleum Related Research

• USGS Science Featured in a Special Issue of Applied Geochemistry on Contamination from Oil Production
• Challenging a Paradigm: MTBE Shown to Degrade to TBA Without Microorganisms
• Microorganisms Degrade MTBE Even at Winter Ground-Water Temperatures
• Ground-Water Recharge Affects Fate of Petroleum Contaminant Plumes
• Predicting Plume Growth Rates - A Simple Method for Calculating Growth Rates of Petroleum Plumes
• USGS Scientists Contribute to the Landmark " Treatise on Geochemistry"
• How do you Clean Up Gasoline Spills Naturally?
• Relying on Nature to Clean Up Contaminated Ground Water
• Natural Attenuation for Groundwater Remediation
• Using Oxygen to Enhance Biodegradation of Contaminants – Lessons Learned
• Software Provides Estimates of How Long it Will Take for Remediation Efforts to Achieve Their Goals
• Creating Oxic Ground-Water Conditions to Clean Up MTBE Contamination
• MTBE Can Degrade Naturally Without Oxygen
• MTBE Biodegrades Naturally in Stream Sediments
• Natural Attenuation of MTBE at Laurel Bay, South Carolina
• Toxics Program Scientist Selected as 2003 USGS Engineer of the Year
• Improving Cleanup of Contamination from Oil and Gas Production

Fact Sheets

• Bioremediation--Nature's Way to a Cleaner Environment: USGS Fact Sheet FS-O54-95
• Contaminant Sorption by Soil and Bed Sediment is there a Difference?: USGS Fact Sheet FS-087-00
• Ground Water Contamination by Crude Oil near Bemidji, Minnesota: USGS Fact Sheet FS-084-98
• Simulating Contaminant Attenuation, Double-Porosity Exchange, and Water Age in Aquifers Using MOC3D: USGS Fact Sheet 086-99
• Simulating Transport of Volatile Organic Compounds in the Unsaturated Zone Using the Computer Model R-UNSAT: USGS Fact Sheet FS-019-98
• Naturally Occurring Radioactive Minerals (NORM) in Produced Water and Oil-Field Equipment -- An Issue for the Energy Industry, USGS Fact Sheet 0142-99
• USGS Research on Saline Waters Co-Produced With Energy Resources, USGS Fact Sheet FS-003-97

New Publications

• Response to commentary on Observed methanogenic biodegradation rrogressions: Hostettler, F.D., Bekins, B.A., Rostad, C.E., and Herkelrath, W.N., 2008, Environmental Forensics, v. 9, no. 2-3, p. 121-126, doi:10.1080/15275920802115738.