QUANTIFYING THE IMPACT OF DNAPL PLUMES IN SOIL AND GROUNDWATER ON VAPOR INTRUSION USING THE J&E MODEL

This Research Thesis will be pertaining to quantifying different sensitivity factors that will affect plumes of Dense Non-aqueous Phase Liquids (DNAPL) and Vapor Intrusion (VI) concentrations, in this case specifically, Trichloroethylene (TCE) and vinyl chloride. The site that data was collected from was the Delphi automotive plant in Dayton, OH. The company made auto parts and would use certain chemical degreasers such as TCE on these parts. They kept the chemicals in underground holding containers but later found out they leaked and made their way into the ground water.

The problem at hand was the contaminants in groundwater but also these chemicals are very volatile and would release gases into the pore spaces in the soil. The gases made their way up to the surface where there was a surrounding neighborhood. These gases leaked into the houses through cracks and other entry ways of their foundations.

Vapor intrusion (VI) is a huge problem as the chemicals intruding can pose major health risks. This research will be focusing on how to calculate in a sense the level of VI by looking at all the surrounding factors such as chemical concentration, foundation type, stratums (depth and make-up), as well as other factors. It will also be looking at how these specific factors affect VI and Health-Risks using the Johnson and Ettinger Model.

The Johnson and Ettinger Model is an excel-formatted function that contains variables with predetermined numbers associated. What I will be doing with the model is entering in the data from the collected sites. Once the model is calibrated I will be able to conduct a sensitivity analysis on every factor within the model to see how each one effects the outputs. There should be trends that will allow for conclusions on what to expect with a VI scenario.

With this research, the goal will be to create a system that depending on all the surrounding factors, how we can calculate the risk before doing any field testing. This would allow clean-up companies to better use their resources and do the actual clean-up more efficiently.