INVESTIGATION of VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS (Vocs) DETECTED at VAPOR INTRUSION SITES
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University of Kentucky UKnowledge Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering Civil Engineering 2018 INVESTIGATION OF VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS (VOCs) DETECTED AT VAPOR INTRUSION SITES Mohammadyousef Roghani University of Kentucky, [email protected] Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2018.430 Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Roghani, Mohammadyousef, "INVESTIGATION OF VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS (VOCs) DETECTED AT VAPOR INTRUSION SITES" (2018). Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering. 73. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/ce_etds/73 This Doctoral Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Civil Engineering at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STUDENT AGREEMENT: I represent that my thesis or dissertation and abstract are my original work. Proper attribution has been given to all outside sources. I understand that I am solely responsible for obtaining any needed copyright permissions. I have obtained needed written permission statement(s) from the owner(s) of each third-party copyrighted matter to be included in my work, allowing electronic distribution (if such use is not permitted by the fair use doctrine) which will be submitted to UKnowledge as Additional File. I hereby grant to The University of Kentucky and its agents the irrevocable, non-exclusive, and royalty-free license to archive and make accessible my work in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I agree that the document mentioned above may be made available immediately for worldwide access unless an embargo applies. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of my work. I understand that I am free to register the copyright to my work. REVIEW, APPROVAL AND ACCEPTANCE The document mentioned above has been reviewed and accepted by the student’s advisor, on behalf of the advisory committee, and by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS), on behalf of the program; we verify that this is the final, approved version of the student’s thesis including all changes required by the advisory committee. The undersigned agree to abide by the statements above. Mohammadyousef Roghani, Student Dr. Kelly G. Pennell, Major Professor Dr. Tim Taylor, Director of Graduate Studies INVESTIGATION OF VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS (VOCs) DETECTED AT VAPOR INTRUSION SITES DISSERTATION A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Engineering at the University of Kentucky By Mohammadyousef Roghani Lexington, Kentucky Director: Dr. Kelly Pennell, Associate Professor of Civil Engineering Lexington, Kentucky Copyright © Mohammadyousef Roghani 2018 ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION INVESTIGATION OF VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS (VOCs) DETECTED AT VAPOR INTRUSION SITES This dissertation investigates unexplained vapor intrusion field data sets that have been observed at hazardous waste sites, including: 1) non-linear soil gas concentration trends between the VOC source (i.e. contaminated groundwater plume) and the ground surface; and, 2) alternative pathways that serve as entry points for vapors to infiltrate into buildings and serve to increase VOC exposure risks as compared to the classic vapor intrusion model, which primarily considered foundation cracks as the route for vapor entry. The overall hypothesis of this research is that theoretical knowledge of fate and transport processes can be systematically applied to vapor intrusion field data using a multiple lines of evidence approach to improve the science-based understanding of how and when vapor intrusion exposure risks will pose increased exposure risk; and, ultimately this knowledge can be used to develop policies that reduce exposure risks. The first objective of this research involved numerical modeling, field sampling and laboratory tests to investigate which factors influence soil gas transport within the subsurface. Combining results of all of these studies provide improved understanding of which factors influence VOC fate and transport within the subsurface. Importantly, the results demonstrate a non- linear trend between the VOC source concentration in the subsurface and the ground surface concentration at the study site, which disagrees with many vapor intrusion conceptual models. Ultimately, the source concentration may not be a good predictor of shallow soil gas concentrations. Laboratory tests described the effect of soil characteristics such as the soil water content on VOC vapor diffusion. The numerical model was able to explain specific conditions that could not be described by the field and laboratory data alone. A paper was published that summarizes the major outcomes from this objective (Pennell et al, 2016). The second objective of this research investigated preferential pathways for VOC vapor migration into buildings. Sewer systems can act as important pathways for vapor intrusion. The research objective is to evaluate conditions that increase the potential for inhalation exposure risks via vapor intrusion thorough sewer systems into indoor spaces. A field study was conducted in California over a 4-year period to investigate the spatial and temporal variability of alternative pathways (e.g. aging infrastructure piping systems) within the context of vapor intrusion exposure risks. A paper was published that summarizes the major outcomes from the field study (Roghani et al. 2018). The final research objective involved the development of a numerical model to describe VOC fate and transport within a sewer system. The numerical model predicts VOC mass transport. The model results were compared to the field data and provides insight about the role preferential pathways play in increasing VOC exposure risks. KEYWORDS: volatile organic compounds, vapor intrusion, hazardous sites, numerical modeling, alternative pathway, sewer systems Mohammadyousef Roghani November 8, 2018 INVESTIGATION OF VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS (VOCs) DETECTED AT VAPOR INTRUSION SITES By Mohammadyousef Roghani Kelly G. Pennell, PhD. Director of Dissertation Tim Taylor, PhD. Director of Graduate Studies November 8, 2018 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The completion of this work would not have been possible without the guidance and support of many people. I would first like to express my deepest appreciation to my advisor and Director of dissertation, Dr. Kelly Pennell, for her incredible support, encouragement, insight and inspiration over the past few years. This research would not be possible if not for her help and guidance. I would like to thank the other members of my thesis committee—Dr. Lindell Ormsbee, Dr. Yi-Tin Wang and Dr. Zach Hilt —for their support, guidance and time not only during this research project, but throughout my education at the University of Kentucky. I would like to thank the University of Kentucky and the Department of Civil Engineering for the financial and educational support provided to me during my time as an undergraduate and graduate student. I am grateful for the countless individuals at the university and in the department who have lent a helping hand along the way. I would like to acknowledge the USEPA Region 9, Entanglement Technologies and Clearwater Group for their contributions to my research. I would like to thank the other members of my research group, Evan Willett and Elham Shirazi, for their support, insight, and help over the past few years. Finally, I would like to thank my wife, my parents and my friends for their unconditional love and support throughout my journey. Thank you for always inspiring me to pursue my dreams. Research reported herein was supported by a CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation (Award #1452800) and the National Institute of Environmental Health iii Sciences of the National Institutes of Health (Award #P42ES007380). The content is solely the responsibility of the author and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Science Foundation or the National Institutes of Health. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................... iii List of Tables …………………………………………………………………………x List of Figures……………………………………………………………………….. xi CHAPTER 1: Introduction ........................................................................................... 1 1.1. Background ................................................................................................... 1 1.2. Research objective ........................................................................................ 3 1.3. Dissertation organization .............................................................................. 4 CHAPTER 2: Theoretical Background: The Role of Geology and Moisture Content .7 2.1. Soil characteristics.............................................................................................. 7 2.2. Soil moisture .................................................................................................... 18 2.3. Capillary fringe ................................................................................................ 24 2.4. Vapor intrusion numerical models ..................................................................