vvEPA
SITE FACTS
s ^Location: Si Joseph, Michigan,,
,':' Laboratories/Agencies: U.S.
x EPARobert S. Kerr> * - ^' ^ > ,
*>.EnvironmentalResearcht t ^ \
,, "Labpratdryt>(RSKERL), Western "
> ^'RegionHazardous Substance'
h^Research Center (WRHSRC) at -
f^ Stanford University, US. EPA "
/«-'Region 5; Michigan Department
8isipf: jstatural Resources' ' +^'',,."
^ - >'*'•> s ' i "li'" > " ^
^ Media and Contaminants:
;, Vinyl chloride (VC), ' s s '
"^dichloroethylene (DCE), and w ,
t< trichl9roethylene (TCE) in >, '
, , ,,
Treatment: Jnsitu -
Date of Initiative Selection:
; Objective: To evaluate the in '
,*« situ remediation of VC and TCE" t\
^; 'contamination;!!! ground water ' '
^ Bioremediation Field Initiative
^"Contact: Johh Wilson, tXS. EPA
1;, RSKERL, P.O. Box 1198, Ada, , T
,' OK 74820 Vt '' -'' -" " '-''
5,' "' *C c",VSs ''^ ^ ^'''>,i^*, ,-. „
Regional Contact: John
^Kuhns/U.S./EPA Region 5,^ > (
I *• ,Vyaste Management Division, 77
'
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Research and
Development
Washington, DC 20460
Office of Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
Washington, DC 20460
EPA/540/F-93/510F
September 1993
Bioremediation Field
Initiative Site Profile:
Bendix Corporation/Allied
Automotive Superfund Site
Background
In 1982, two contaminated ground water plumes with mg/L concen-
trations of trichloroethylene (TCE), vinyl chloride (VC), and as- and
irans-l,2-dichloroethylene (c- and f-DCE) Were found to be emanating
from the Bendix Corporation/Allied Automotive industrial site in St.
Joseph, Michigan (see Figure 1), and the site was placed on the
National Priority List. In early 1991, the Western Region Hazardous
Substance Research Center (WRHSRC) at Stanford University, in
cooperation with U.S. EPA Region 5 and the U.S. EPA Robert S. Kerr
Environmental Research Laboratory (RSKERL), began a series of
studies to examine the feasibility of a proposed in situ treatment for
the contaminated ground water.
100 Meters
10u.g/L Contours
l^'Opcago/
•* "^'''>
Figure 1. Plan view of site, showing contaminated plumes of TCE, VC, and DCE.
Field Evaluation
Researchers previously had discovered that c-DCE, f-DCE, and VC
could be biodegraded in situ by mixing ground water and a solution
of oxygen and methane. In the field, however, simply injecting solu-
tions of oxygen and methane into an aquifer does not adequately mix
them with the contaminated ground water. To remedy this problem,
WRHSRC proposed using an in situ treatment unit that enhances this
Printed on paper that contains at least
50 percent recycled fiber.
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mixing. Figure 2 presents a schematic of this sys-
tem. The unit consists of a well with two screens, a
pump, and mixing apparatus. One well screen is
located at the bottom of the aquifer and the other
Oxygen—-i r— Methane
Reclrculatlon Unit
iVadoseZone:
-Seal!
Ground Water
Figure 2. Schematic of the mixing and retirculation system.
is at the water table. Contaminated ground water
is drawn into the well through the lower screen,
where oxygen and methane are added, then
pumped back into the aquifer through the water
table screen. The pumping rate in the treatment
unit can be adjusted to recirculate the plume
through the treatment unit as many times as is
necessary to meet cleanup standards.
RSKERL began by sampling and chemically ana-
lyzing two transects extending across the plume
perpendicular to the flow of ground water. These
samples revealed relatively high concentrations of
all contaminants within 20 m of the plume's center.
Maximum concentrations were 138 mg/L for TCE,
128 mg/L for e-DCE, and 56 mg/L for VC. Concen-
trations of TCE were much higher than expected,
leading researchers to suspect that TCE might in-
hibit the growth of methanotrophic bacterial popu-
lations needed to remediate the aquifer.
To investigate this possibility, WRHSRC conducted
microcosm studies of aquifer solids. The micro-
cosms showed complete methane utilization re-
gardless of VC or TCE concentration and removal
rates of 25 to 80 percent for VC. The studies also
showed, however, that TCE is not effectively trans-
formed by the methanotrophic process. Based on
these results, WRHSRC speculated that the pro-
posed mixing system might actually dissolve more
TCE than it degraded by circulating ground water
past highly concentrated, oily-phase TCE. This
led WRHSRC to recommend that the proposed sys-
tem be installed only in areas where TCE concen-
trations are low and VC is the downgradient
contaminant.
Status
Researchers currently are conducting another site
characterization to identify regions of the contami-
nated site with low concentrations of TCE. Pre-
vious research has shown that low concentrations
of TCE can be transformed in situ to environmen-
tally benign ethene by adding methanol and ace-
tate to the aquifer. A combination of this treatment
for TCE and the originally proposed methanotro-
phic treatment for VC might be used to remediate
regions of the site with low TCE concentrations.
The Bioremediation field Initiative was established in 1990 to expand the nation's, field experience in bioremediation technologies; J
The Initiative's objectives are to more fully document the performance of full-scale^applications'of^bioremediation; p'royide '<
technical assistance to regional and state site managers; and provide information on treatability studies, "design, and operation of
bioremediation projects. The Initiative currently is performing field evaluationspf bioremeciiatioiiat eightrother hazardous'waste '
sites: Libby Ground Water Superfund site, Libby, MT; Park'City Pipeline, Park City,~KS; West KLjAvenue Landfill Superfund site,
Kalamazoo, MI; Eielson Air Force Base Superfund site, Fairbanks, AK; Hill Air Force Base Superfund site, Salt Lake City, UT;
Escambia Wood Preserving Site—Brookhaven, Brookhaven,MS;^ReiEy Tar and Chemical Corporation Superfund site, St. Louis
Park, MN; and Public Service Company, Denver, CO. To obtain profiles on these, additional sites ,or 'to be added to 'tixe~Inltiative's
mailing list, call 513-569-7562. For further information on the Bioremediation Field Initiative, contact Fran Kremer, Coordinator/ ,
Bioremediation Field Initiative, U.S. EPA, Office of Research and Development, 26 West Margin LutherxKingDriye, Cincinnati, OH t
45268; or Michael Forlini, U.S. EPA, Technology Innovation Office, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, 401JM Street,
SW., Washington, DC 20460. ^ /,^ V>, , \'.'""> '?[',', '';~\c \^',\''^\,^ ',/
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