COMPARISON OF PERCHLOROETHENE SORPTION BEHAVIORS AND CARBONACEOUS MATTER FORMS BY LITHOFACIES FROM THE BORDEN AQUIFER

Some lithofacies of the glaciolacustrine (beach/near shore) Borden, Ont. Canada aquifer exhibit distinctly different perchloroethene sorption coefficient distributions. These differences, however, are not explained simply by differences in the forms and quantity of carbonaceous matter. Prior studies have demonstrated that condensed carbonaceous matter is associated with elevated carbon-normalized distribution coefficients for hydrophobic organic pollutants. Condensed forms of carbonaceous matter include kerogen, humic matter and black carbon. The goal of this project is to compare the quantities and forms of carbonaceous matter found in samples from selected lithofacies in the aquifer. The results of this research will determine 1) which form of carbonaceous matter has the highest sorption coefficients and 2) the quantity in which each form of carbonaceous matter is present in the selected lithofacies. This knowledge can then be applied to contaminant modeling.