Underground Storage Tanks

Listed here are links to information about mathematical models that may be used to simulate the fate and transport of MTBE (as well as other contaminants of concern).

EPA Resources

• The Hydrocarbon Spill Screening Model (HSSM)
  This model was developed by the  U. S. Environmental Protection Agency to serve as a simplified model for subsurface releases of fuel hydrocarbons.  The most common problem that the model may be used to address is that of a  leaking underground storage tank.  The model tracks the flow of the water-immiscible fuel, simulates the dissolution of various chemicals (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes or MTBE) into ground water, and the transport of contaminants to receptors in aquifers.
• OnSite Calculator
  OnSite provides a set of online calculators for estimating transport parameters from field data, running simple models and performing unit conversions. The intent is to provide aids to planning site assements or in reviewing modeling reports. The calculators include estimates of hydraulic gradients, the retardation factor, temperature-dependent Henry's Law constants, effective solubilities from fuels, estimated longitudinal dispersivity and transport calculations from pulse or fuel sources. Example applications show how to use the suite of calculators for site assessment and report review.
• Modeling Subsurface Contamination by Petroleum Hydrocarbons
  An Interactive Training Course emphasizing fuel releases that result in benzene, toluene, ethylbenenze, xylenes (BTEX) and methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) contamination of aquifers, prepared by the Office of Research and Development, U.S. EPA.

Non-EPA Resources

• New Jersey DEP's Advection/Dispersion model for MTBE and TBA (Zip) (1.7 MB)
• Simulating Transport of Volatile Organic Compounds in the Unsaturated Zone Using the Computer Model R-UNSAT
  U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet FS-019-98

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