Attenuation Of Polybrominated Biphenyls and Hexachlorobenzene By Earth Materials


 United States
 Environmental Protection
 Agency
Municipal Environmental Research
Laboratory
Cincinnati OH 45268
Research and Development
EPA-600/S2-81-191  Dec. 1981
 Project  Summary
Attenuation  of
Polybrominated Biphenylsand
Hexachlorobenzene  by
Earth  Materials
Norma M. Lewis
  This laboratory study of the aqueous
solubility,  adsorption, mobility, and
microbial  degradation  of polybro-
minated byphenyls (PBB's) and hexa-
chlorobenzene (HCB) was undertaken
to provide information of their behavoir
in the environment, particularly on the
potential for their movement through
soil at  land disposal facilities for
hazardous wastes. Studies indicated
that PBB's were more than 200 times
and HCB more than 2.5 times more
soluble  in landfill leachate than  in
distilled water. Also, the solubilities of
PBB's and HCB were higher in creek-
water and landfill leachates than  in
purified waters; this was correlated
with a level of dissolved organics  in
the waters.
  HCB showed a greater tendency for
adsorption than did PBB's. There was
a high direct correlation between the
total organic carbon (TOC) content of
soils and the amount adsorbed. PBB's
and HCB were strongly  adsorbed by
the Ambersorb XE-348 but not so by
organic solvents.
  PBB's and HCB remained immobile
when leached with water or landfill
leachate but were highly mobile when
leached with organic solvents. PBB's
and HCB were found to be resistant to
microbial degradation.
  This Project Summary was devel-
oped by EPA's Municipal Environ-
mental Research Laboratory, Cincin-
nati, OH, to announce key findings of
the research project that is fully
documented in a separate report of the
same title (see Project Report ordering
information at back).

Introduction
  The purposes of the study summarized
here were: to produce a literature
review on attentuation of PBB's  and
HCB in soil materials; to measure
quantitatively the aqueous solubilities of
PBB's and HCB to determine the effect of
measuring  concentrations of dissolved
organic  matter on the  solubilities; to
measure the  adsorption capacity of
selected earth and carbonaceous
materials  for  PBB's and HCB from
aqueous and  organic  solvents; to
evaluate the effects of time, organic
carbon content, adsorbent structure,
and solvent on attenuation and mobility
of PBB's and HCB; to measure  the
persistence of PBB's and HCB to
microbial degradation, both in soluble
cultures and soils; and to use these data
to develop a mathematical model that
will allow prediction of PBB's and HCB
adsorption and mobility in earth
material.

Polybrominated Biphenyls
  The major uses of PBB's were for the
production of flame retardant resins of
acrylonitrile, bertadiene.andstyrenefor
business machines, electrical housings.

-------
textiles, and other materials. Allot these
uses were discontinued in late 1974 as
a result of the contamination incident in
Michigan. At present, no PBB's  are
being imported in commercial quantities.
  A  serious problem  was created in
1973 when PBB's  were accidentally
added  to livestock  feed in  place of
magnesium  oxide. In Michigan, thou-
sands  of farm  animals  had to be
disposed, and approximately 300 persons
became  contaminated through their
food source. Studies in Michigan have
shown that PBB's  can cause liver,
kidney, and  brain damage in animals,
and  liver damage  and personality
changes  in humans.
  PBB's have the hydrophobic charac-
teristic of being strongly adsorbed from
aqueous  solution onto  soils, depending
on the soil's texture and organic carbon
content. A linear correlation was found
between  adsorption  capacity  and total
organic carbon content of soil. Low-clay
and low organic matter soil resulted in
higher  PBB's in root crops, but much of
the contamination could be removed by
peeling.
  Little  information  exists on  the
disposal  of PBB's, except for  that con-
cerning the Gratiot County landfill near
St.  Louis, Michigan, and the disposal
site  in Kalkaska County, Michigan,
where  the PBB contaminated animals
were buried.
  Incineration is the safest method for
disposal  of PBB's; however,  costs are
high, they do  not burn readily,  and
conditions must be controlled because
these  compounds  will  reenter  the
environment in the form of stack gases.
Less expensive  alternatives  are  land
burial  or landfilling,  which is more
accessible and energy  efficient.
  PBB's are very sensitive to UV-light,
and  lower brominated  biphenyls  are
found  when PBB's  are  irradiated.
Degradation of the hexabromobiphenyl
was more rapid than hexachloroanalog;
less than  10  percent  of the initial
compound  persisted 9 minutes of
illumination. At  present, there is no
information  to indicate that  biological
degradation of PBB's occurs in animals.

Hexachlorobenzene
  A  problem became evident  with HCB
when contamination in cattle occurred
in December  1972, near  Darrow,
Louisiana.  Quarantine restrictions
involved  approximately 120  square
miles and about 20,000 cattle. By 1974,
the  U.S.D.A. had identified HCB in
domestic meat and poultry supplies  in at
least 14  states.  HCB residues  in
livestock were found above the accept-
able 0.5 ppm level.
  It was estimated in 1975 that approxi-
mately 240 metric tons were being used
annually in the  manufacturing of tires
and as a fungicide for treatment of seed
grain. An additional 2,850  metric tons
were being produced  annually as a
byproduct waste of various chlorinated
solvents and as an impurity or byproduct
in the production of several pesticides.
  The cost for disposal by incineration is
desirable but more costly than land
disposal. Current methods  of disposal
include  land disposal  (sanitary and
industrial landfill, deep well injection,
and  dry pond),  incineration,  open pit
burning, resource recovery, municipal
sewage treatment plants, and emission
to the atmosphere.
  The nature of the soil and the organic
matter content are factors affecting
adsorption. The  half life of  HCB in soil
under controlled conditions  was ap-
proximately 4 years. Also, HCB was not
lost  in soil  under aerobic  (sterile and
nonsterile) and anaerobic nonsterile
conditions for 1 year. Photo degradation
was observed when HCB was irradiated
by UV-light.
  In  the complete report, studies of the
aqueous solubility, adsorption, mobility,
and microbial degradation of PBB's and
HCB are detailed.  The following will
discuss  some of the various methods,
techniques, types,  and  conclusions  of
these studies.

Materials and Methods

PPB and HCB Materials
  The PBB material, known asfireMaster
PB-6,* was supplied by the Michigan
Chemical Corporation (lot  #6244A); it
was used without further purification.
  14C-PBB  (lot #872-244) was synthe-
sized and purified by  New England
Nuclear  Corporation, Boston,  Massa-
chusetts.
  HCB was purchased from  Aldrich
Chemical Company,  Inc.,  Milwaukee,
Wisconsin. The  product was recrystal-
lized from glass-distilled hexane. This
process was repeated several times
until the purity reached  nearly 100
percent.
  14C-HCB  (lot  #852-058) was pur-
chased  from New England Nuclear
Corporation, Boston, Massachusetts.
 "Mention of trade names or commercial products
 does not constitute endorsement or recommenda-
 tion for use.
The specific activity was 35.5 m Ci/m
mole (0.125 m Ci/mg). No other compo-
nents were detected by gas chromatog-
raphy.

Waters and Leachates
  Distilled water, deionized water,
Sugar Creek water, and  leachate from
two landfills (Blackwell and  Du Page)
were  selected for use in the solubility
study. Leachates were centrifuged in a
continuous flow centrifugation  appa-
ratus  at approximately 17,000 rpm
before passing through a 0.22-/um pore
size membrane before use.
  The total organic content (TOC) and
chemical analyses of the waters  and
leachates are shown  in Table 1.

Solubility of PBB's and HCB
in Waters and Leachates

Isomer Identification
  The PBB material fireMaster PB-6 is a
mixture of more than 30 isomers (Figure
1). The six major isomers are 2,2',4,5,5'-
penta-; 2,3',4,4',5'-penta-; 2,2',4,4',5,5'-
hexa-; 2,2',3,4,4',5'-hexa-; 2,3',4,4',5,5'-
hexa-; and  2,2',3,4,4',5,5'-hepta bro-
minated biphenyl.
  The remainder of the 30 isomers wer
not identified completely; the mass
spectrometer analysis (Figure 2) shows
the number of bromine atoms for these
remaining isomers.

Solubility in Pure Water
  The compositions of penta- (peaks 1 -
3), hexa- (peaks 4-8),  and hepta- (peaks
9 and 10) isomers in the hexane-water-
soluble fractions of fireMaster BP-6 are
compared in Table 2. In general, the
water-soluble fractions of  the PBB
mixtures were  richer in the  lower
brominated  isomers  than the original
(hexane-soluble) PBB mixtures—this
should be considered when attempting
to predict  PBB migration  in  aqueous
solution.
  The solubility of the major isomers of
PBB's and  solubilities of HCB in de-
ionized  water as a  function of  filter
media at room temperature showed that
filter  pore  size was a major factor in
measuring the aqueous solubility of
PBB's and  HCB. A finite pore size may
allow particles smaller than the pore to
pass through; this consequently affects
the measurement of solubility. Recog-
nizing that the definition of solubility in
this case is an operational one, a 0.22-
fjm cellulose acetate membrane  was_
chosen  for future studies  of solubilit^B

-------
and adsorption measurements. This was
done because it is believed that the
smaller pore size yielded filtrates that
were more representative of the "true"
solubility than the larger pore size, and
because the hydrophilic cellulose
acetate membranes were operationally
easier to use and less costly than Teflon,
while yielding comparable solubility
values.
Solubility in Waters
and Leachates
The solubilities of PBB's and HCB in
waters and leachates as a function of
time are shown in Tables 3 and 4. The
results show that the solubilities of both
PBB's and HCB were very low and that
there was no significant change in the
measurements after 2 days, 6 months,
or even 1 year. It was concluded,
therefore, that equilibrium was com-
pleted within 2 days.
The average solubilities of PBB's in
distilled water, deionized water, creek
water, Du Page leachate, and Blackwell
leachate were 0.057 //g/L, 0.317 /ug/L,
0.497 /ug/L, 8.889 ug/L, and 16.892
/jg/L, respectively, and the average
solubilities of HCB in the same waters
and leachates were 1.75 /ug/L, 1.78
Table 1. Total Organic Carbon (TOC) and Major Elements Analyses of Waters Used in PBB's and HCB Solubility Study
Waters
Distilled water
Deionized water
Sugar Creek
Blackwell leachate
Du Page leachate
TOC
(ppb)
335
336
1.841
63,030
83,690
B
(mg/L)
BDL*
BDL
0.083
0.915
2.690
Ca
(mg/L)
BDL
BDL
80.4
48.3
33.6
Cr
(mg/L)
BDL
BDL
0.013
0.133
0.092
Fe
(mg/L)
BDL
BDL
0.014
0.135
0.091
Mg
(mg/L)
BDL
BDL
28.3
191.0
14O.O
Mn
(mg/L)
BDL
BDL
BDL
0.045
BDL
Zn
(mg/L)
BDL
BDL
0.087
0.087
0.271
Na
(mg/L)
BDL
BDL
10.1
291.0
321.0
K
(mg/L)
BDL
BDL
1.8
232.0
281.0
*BDL = Below detection limit.
IS

CM
a
J.

R
8
•0
10
"0
CO
CM

-------
CO
1234567 8

Peak Number
10
Figure 2.
Table 2.
Gas chromatogram of the PBB mixture fireMaster BP-6 on 6-ft glass
column packed with 3 percent SE-30 on 80/100 mesh Chromosorb WHP.

Distribution of PBB Isomers in Hexane- and Water-Soluble Fractions of
fireMaster BP-6, Based on Total Area*

Water-soluble^
Isomer
(HBr)
1 (5 Br)
2 (5 Br)
3 (5 Br)
4 (6 Br)
5 (6 Br)
6 (6 Br)
7 (6 Br)
8 (6 Br)
9 (7 Br)
10 (7 Br)
TOTAL
Hexane-soluble
(%>
3.84
0.31
5.02
1.21
60.44
10.42
4.42
1.39
11.92
0.91
99.88
A
<%)
18.30
6.06
17.09
3.48
27.32
14.92
4.12
1.50
6.51
0.70
100.00
B
(%)
16.49
6.31
15.50
4.73
31.61
12.00
5.50
1.08
5.69
1.10
100.01
*Using electron capture detector.
}PBB-saturated water filtered through glass wool (A) and glass microfiber filter (B).
Aig/L, 2.22/jg/L, 4.14 //g/L, and 4.47
/Lig/L, respectively. The higher solubilities
of both compounds in creek water and
leachates were directly correlated with
the level of dissolved organics in the
waters, as shown by the TOC values for
the waters given in Table 1. These
results indicate that PBB's were more
than 200 times and HCB more than 2.5
times more soluble in landfill leachates
than in pure waters. The type of
dissolved organic matter is also
apparently important in determining
how soluble the compound will be in a
given water. These factors must be
considered when predicting the migra-
tion of these compounds from waste
disposal sites.

Adsorption by Soil Materials
and Ambersorb® Carbona-
ceous Adsorbent
All data were fitted by linear regression
to the log form of the empirical Freundlich
adsorption equation:

log^= log/C+1A?logC,
where x = /ug or ng of compound
adsorbed; m = weight of adsorbent (g); Cf
= equilibrim concentration of the
solution (/ug/mL or ng/mL); and K and
1/n are constants.
The intercept of the linear plot of the
Freundlich equation is equal to the
value of K when Cf =1 (log C( = 0). The K
value can be used to compare the
adsorption of different components on
various earth materials at unit concen-
trations. The K values reported in this
study are in units of pg/g at unit
concentration of 1 /L/g/mL and are m
units of ng/g at unit concentration of
ng/mL The slope of the line gives 1/n
and provides a rough estimate of the m
intensity of the adsorption; it also varies ^
in a regular manner with the temperature
of the system and the nature of the
adsorbate.

Adsorption by Soils
The measurements of PBB adsorption
on three soils from Blackwell leachate
and HCB adsorption from deionized
water were plotted according to the
Freundlich isotherms. The data for both
compounds yielded linear and nearly
parallel lines for each soil type tested.
All the regression lines generated had
coefficients (r2) of at least 0.98; this
indicates an excellent fit of the data to
the Freundlich equation. The data also
show that HCB had a greater tendency
for adsorption on these adsorbents than
did PBB's under these experimental
conditions. The adsorption of PBB's and
HCB on these three soils followed the
series: muck>Catlin>Ava. This suggests
a relationship between the organic
carbon content of these soils and their
adsorption capacity for PBB's and HCB.

Effect of Organic Solvents on
Adsorption by Soils
The adsorption of hexane-ethanol-
soluble14C-PBB's and 14C-HCB by Catling
-------
Table 3. Solubility of PBB's in Waters and Leachates fag/L)*
Function of Equilibration Time

Distilled water
filtered Through PresaturatedMillipore Membrane (0.22 urn) as a
Deionized water

Peaks
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
TOTAL

Peaks
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
TOTAL
2
days
BDL-f
BDL
BDL
0.001
0.035
O.OO4
BDL
BDL
0.017
BDL
0.057

2
days
0.038
BDL
0.040
0.005
0.175
0.067
0.039
0.037
0.080
BDL
0.481

Sugar
4
days
0.034
BDL
0.039
0.004
0.161
0.087
0.037
0.039
0.074
BDL
0.475
4
days
BDL
BDL
BDL
0.002
0.032
0.003
BDL
BDL
0.019
BDL
0.056
Creek
7
days
0.043$
BDL
0.044
0.006
0.190
0.089
0.042
0.038
0.084
BDL
0.536
7
days
BDL
BDL
BDL
0.001
0.038
0.004
BDL
BDL
0.016
BDL
0.059

2
days
0.461
0.242
0.901
0.178
2.605
1.673
0.910
0.510
1.050
0.430
8.960
2
days
0.030
BDL
0.040
BDL
0.136
0.059
0.017
0.009
0.028
BDL
0.319
Du Page
4
days
0.501
0.240
1.005
0.210
2.686
1.979
0.923
0.490
1.203
0.427
9.664
4
days
0.029
BDL
0.038
BDL
0.142
0.050
0.016
0.008
0.025
BDL
0.308

7
days
0.448$
0.244
0.760
0.163
2.417
1.457
0.788
0.469
0.930
0.368
8.044

2
days
0.610
0.490
1.415
0.306
5.615
3.000
1.857
0.773
1.925
0.790
16.781
7
days
0.035
BDL
0.045
BDL
0.125
0.064
0.015
0.015
0.026
BDL
0.325
Blackwell
4
days
0.660
0.498
1.373
0.314
5.097
2.979
1.709
0.756
1.908
0.725
16.019
6
months
0.037
BDL
0.055
0.013
0.100
0.062
0.014
0.012
0.023
BDL
0.316

7
days
0.721$
0.520
1.467
0.333
6.141
3.149
1.901
0.711
2.136
0.798
17.877
*Each value is a mean of two replications.
t'Be'low detection limit.
\Each value is a mean of four replications (two separate sets).

Table 4. Solubility of HCB in Waters and Leachates (ug/L) Filtered Through
Presaturated Millipore Membrane (0.22 fjm) as a Function of Equilibration
Time

Concentration (fjg/L)*
Waters and
Leachates
Distilled water
Deionized water
Sugar Creek water
Du Page leachate
Blackwell leachate
2 days
1.77
1.83
2.43
4.17
4.58
7 days
1.71
1.67
2.35
4.04
4.29
30 days
1.75
1.78
2.22
4.14
4.47
1 yr
ND+
1.89
ND
ND
ND
*Each value is a mean of two replications.
+Not determined.
and muck soil was investigated. Little or
no adsorption of either PBB's or HCB
from these two organic solvents was
observed. Representative data for
hexane-soluble 14C-PBB's and 14C-HCB
remaining in hexane solution after
equilibrium with Catlin silt loam soil are
presented in Table 5.
As indicated by these results, it may
not be feasible to dispose of PBB's or
HCB dissolved in organic solvents on
soils. A migration of PBB's and HCB
from the soil surface or from a landfill
environment could occur if PBB or HCB
wastes and organic solvents were
disposed of at the same location.

Adsorption by Amber sorb
XE-348 from Organic Solvents
The adsorption of PBB's and HCB by
carbonaceous adsorbents was investi-
gated to learn if activated carbons or
similar materials could be used to
adsorb these two compounds from
organic solvents.
The measurements of PBB and HCB
adsorption from several organic solvents
by Ambersorb XE-348 were plotted
according to the Freundlich adsorption
isotherm. In contrast to the results
obtained with soils, these data indicate
that large quantities of PBB's and HCB
were adsorbed by the Ambersorb from
the organic solvents. There were also
large differences in the amounts ad-
sorbed among the solvents. HCB was
consistently absorbed in greateramounts
than PBB's from a given solvent; this
was also true for adsorption by soils
from aqueous solutions. The fact that a
high melting point indicates that the
adsorption of PBB's from a solvent is
lower, and that the higher inter-
molecular forces for nonionic com-
pounds must be overcome for melting to
occur, shows that inter-molecular
forces between solvent-solvent mole-
-------
cules and solvent-solute molecules are
important factors in determining the
amount of PBB's and HCB adsorbed
from organic solvents.
Results indicate that the various PBB
isomers have different affinities for a
given adsorbent from a given solvent.
These facts may be important when
predicting PBB migration through soils
or carbonaceous liners if the isomer
distribution is markedly different than
that found in fireMaster BP-6, or if
various solvents are involved.

Effect of Soil TOC
on Adsorption
There was a high direct correlation
between the TOC content of the soil and
the amount adsorbed.
The PBB adsorption constant (K) was
plotted as a function of TOC. A high
correlation was found with a linear
regression relation of:

K= 64.92+ 17.57 TOC
r2 = 0.999

For HCB, results were silimar:

log K = 2.01 +0.10 TOC
r2 = 0.999

These results indicate that the adsorp-
tion properties of soil materials for
PBB's and HCB can be predicted
accurately when TOC content of the soil
is known. This information should be
used with caution, however, because
only three soils were used to develop
the equations. The large values of the
intercept indicates substantial adsorp-
tion should take place when the TOC
content of the soil is zero. This implies
that the mineral fraction of the soil
contributed to the adsorption capacity;
therefore, the relationship may be
incorrect for soil materials with low TOC
content.

Mobility of PBB's and HCB
in Soil Materials

£ffect of Leachate Solvent
and Soil TOC
Table 6 shows the mobilities of PBB's
and HCB, expressed as Rf values, in
several earth materials as determined
by soil thin-layer chromatography(TLC).
The data show that PBB's and HCB
remained immobile in the earth mate-
rials when leached with water and Du
Page leachate, but were highly mobile
when leached with organic solvents.
PBB's and HCB are nonpolar in nature
and have low solubility in water;
however, they have high solubility in
organic solvents such as dioxane,
carbon tetrachloride, acetone, methanol,
etc. The mobilities of PBBs and HCB in
earth materials were dramatically
reduced when they were leached with
the acetone/water mixture.

Column Leaching Studies
Column leachate studies showed that
no PBB's or HCB were retained in
columns when ethanol containing 14C-
PBB's or 14C-HCB was percolated
through the soil columns. Also, nearly
100 percent of 14C-PBB's or 14C-HCB
were recovered from soil columns
percolated with organic solvent.
These facts are significant for the
diposal of PBB's and HCB wastes. To
prevent migration of PBB's and HCB
from a landfill, PBB and HCB wastes and
organic solvents should not be disposed
of in the same landfill area, and neither
compound should be allowed tocome in
contact with leaching organic solvents
in soils. The results from the adsorption
studies indicate that carbonaceous
liners may restrict the migration by
removing PBB's or HCB dissolved in
organic solvents.

Degradation of PBB's and
HCB in Soils

Extraction of PBB's and
HCB from Soil
The studies indicate that a polar
organic solvent is important in the
extraction of PBB's and HCB from soil.
This suggests that acetone or methanol
acts as a bridge between the water film
on the soil particles and allows transfer
of the compound being extracted into
the nonpolor solvent, thus yielding
higher extraction efficiencies from the
dual solvent system than when either
solvent is used alone.

So/7 Incubation Studies
Data in the incubation studies show
that PBB's and HCB persisted for 6
months in the soil, with no significant
decreases in concentration resulting
from to microbial degradation.
Since PBB's are not degraded, are not
leached by water, are not taken up by
plants, and are not readily volatilized,
we expect PBB's to be a permanent
component of contaminated soils. HCB
also is not degraded or leached by water
and is probably not taken up by plants;
however, HCB has a moderate vapor
pressure and its most likely path for
redistribution or migration in soils is by
vapor transport.

Recommendations
The results show that organic solvents
increase the mobility of PBB's and HCB
and that carbonaceous adsorbents such
as Ambersorb XE-348 are capable of
adsorbing PBB's and HCB from organic
solvents. These findings led to the
recommendation that disposal of PBB or
HCB wastes dissolved in organic solvents
or co-disposal of PBB or HCB materials
with organic solvents be avoided at land
disposal sites unless a carbonaceous
liner material is used.
Beca use it was shown that adsorption
of PBB's and HCB by soils was essentially
zero in organic solvents, the problem of
predicting PBB and HCB migration
shifted from adsorption to fluid conduc-
tivity. Prediction of migration depends
on a knowledge of what the fluid
conductivity of the soil material is to the
organic solvent. Unfortunately, infor-
mation on this subject is sparse. To
Table 5. ™C-PBB's and ^C-HCB Remaining in Hexane Solution After Equilibrium
with Cat/in Silt Loam Soil at 22° ± 1°C
Amount of soil
Concentration (ppm)*
(9)
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
8
10
"C-PBB's
0.325
0.330
0.324
0.327
0.320
0.322
0.323
0.320
0.322
"C-HCB
0.227
0.229
0.227
0.224
0.224
0.225
0.223
0.223
0.225
*Each value is a mean of two replications. The original concentration ofPPB's and HCB
were 0.326 ppm and 0.228 ppm. respectively.
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Table 6. Mobility. Expressed as Rf Values, * ofPBB's andHCB in Several Soil Materials Leached with Various Solvents. Measured
by Soil TLC

Rf Values*
Soil
Materials
Catlin
silt loam
Flanagan
silty clay loam
Ava
silty clay loam
Bloomfield
loamy sand
Ottawa sand
Water
PBB

0.00

/VOf

0.00

ND
0.00
HCB

0.00

ND
0.00
Du Page
Leachate
PBB

0.00

0.00
0.00
HCB

0.00

0.00
0.00
Acetone/water
(1:1. v/v) Methanol
PBB

0.01

0.02

ND
0.17
HCB

0.00

0.01

ND
0.02
PBB

0.40

0.60

0.61

0.86
1.00
HCB

0.40

0.44

0.48

0.72
0.99
Acetone
PBB

0.69

0.76

ND
0.99
HCB

0.45

0.80

ND
1.00
Dioxane
PBB

1.00

1.00
1.00
HCB

0.99

1.00

1.0O
1.00
* Computed from statistical peak analysis of data by using values of first moment for grouped data.
•\ND - Not determined.
predict migration, more information is
needed to determine the effects of soil
properties, soil moisture conditions, and
organic solvent interactions on the
migration rate of the solvent through
soil materials in a landfill environment.
The results and conclusions formu-
lated from this study deal specifically
with attenuation and mobility of PBB's
(and HCB in the liquid phase. Vapor
phase transport through soil pores was
ignored; however, for compounds with a
moderate or high vapor pressure, such
as HCB, this means of migration may be
a significant mechanism for redistribu-
tion. More information is needed to
assess the magnitude of this means of
migration for organic wastes.
The full report was submitted as an
amendment to Grant No. R-804684-01
by the Illinois State Geological Survey,
Urbana, IL, under the sponsorship of the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The EPA author of this Project Summary is Norma M. Lewis of the Municipal
Environmental Research Laboratocy. Cincinnati. OH 45268.
Richard A. Games was the EPA Project Officer (see contact below).
The complete report, entitled "Attenuation of Polybrominated Biphenyls and
Hexachlorobenzene by Earth Materials," was authored by R. A. Griffin and S.
F. J. Chou of the Illinois State Geological Survey, University of Illinois. Urbana,
IL 61801 (Order No. PB 82-107 558; Cost: $8.00, subject to change) will be
available only from:
National Technical Information Service
5285 Port Royal Road
Springfield, VA 22161
Telephone: 703-487-4650
For information contact Mike H. Roulier at:
Municipal Environmental Research Laboratory
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Cincinnati. OH 45268
-------
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
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Information
Cincinnati OH 45268
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