Concentrations of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in New Jersey Soils Prepared By: Teruo Sugihara, Robert Mueller, John Boyer, John Evenson, David Froehlich, Gregory Giles, Lori Lester, Allan Motter, Gregory Neumann, Kevin Schick New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection February 2020 Concentrations of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in New Jersey Soils, NJDEP February 2020 ABSTRACT The primary purpose of this study was to characterize the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations found in soils across New Jersey where the population density was 2,000 people per square mile or greater and in areas not known to be directly impacted by a discharge or historic fill. The large majority of the concentrations measured did not exceed the lowest levels of regulatory concern. Typically, surface concentrations exceeded subsurface concentrations at a given location. Although not the primary focus of the study, assessments of railroad track beds and asphalt surfaces as sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were secondary purposes. Naphthalene concentrations decreased with increased distance from railroad track beds. Several polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons decreased with increasing distance from asphalt surfaces. 2 Concentrations of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in New Jersey Soils, NJDEP February 2020 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 7 A. Purpose .................................................................................................... 7 B. Conceptual Design .................................................................................. 8 II. METHODOLOGY ......................................................................................... 9 A. Site Selection ........................................................................................... 9 B. Sampling and Analysis .......................................................................... 12 C. Data Evaluation for Phase I and Phase II .............................................. 13 III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ................................................................... 15 A. Phase I: Establishing Background PAH Levels ................................... 15 B. Phase I: General PAH Levels ............................................................... 16 C. Phase I: Surface Versus Subsurface Concentration Patterns ............... 17 D. Phase I: PAH Trends Relative to Other Factors ................................... 17 E. Phase II: PAH Trends for Railroad Sites ............................................. 18 F. Phase II: PAH Trends for Asphalt Surface Sites.................................. 19 G. Phase II: PAH Concentrations in Source Material ............................... 19 H. Site Specific Background Determinations ............................................ 20 IV. CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................................... 20 V. FIGURES ....................................................................................................... 23 VI. TABLES ......................................................................................................... 37 VII. LITERATURE CITED ................................................................................ 50 FIGURES Figure 1 Map of municipalities sampled ....................................................................... 23 Figure 2 Railroad Site transects..................................................................................... 24 Figure 3 Asphalt Surface Site transects ......................................................................... 27 Figure 4 Boxplots of PAH concentrations (mg/kg) by county ...................................... 30 Figure 5 Kendall’s Tau (τ) Rank Correlations of PAHs versus Iron............................. 35 TABLES Table 1 Remediation standards and criteria for PAHs ................................................. 37 Table 2 Summary statistics for PAHs (mg/kg; both surface and subsurface) including mean and percentiles (50 = median) ............................................... 38 3 Concentrations of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in New Jersey Soils, NJDEP February 2020 Table 3 Summary statistics for PAHs (mg/kg) at different depths including mean and percentiles (50 = median) ............................................... 39 Table 4 Results from multiple regression models fit with a Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) approach for each PAH and metal ................. 41 Table 5 Kendall’s Tau (τ) Rank Correlations of PAHs and Distance to Railroads ...................................................................................... 45 Table 6 Results from multiple regression models fit with a Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) approach for each PAH in Relation to Distance to Railroads .............................................. 46 Table 7 Kendall’s Tau (τ) Rank Correlations of PAHs and Distance to Asphalt ......................................................................................... 48 Table 8 PAH Concentrations in mg/kg of Source Material from the Asphalt Surface Sites ....................................................................... 49 APPENDICES Appendix 1 Quality Assurance Project Plan Appendix 2 Health and Safety Plan Appendix 3 Phase I: PAH Data Appendix 4 Phase II: PAH data Appendix 5 Phase I: Particle Size and Total Organic Carbon Data Appendix 6 Phase II: Particle Size and Total Organic Carbon Data Appendix 7 2010 Census Population Density 4 Concentrations of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in New Jersey Soils, NJDEP February 2020 ACRONYMS ASTM American Society of Testing and Materials BaP Benzo(a)pyrene BEERA Bureau of Environmental Evaluation and Risk Assessment BEMSA Bureau of Environmental Measurement and Site Assessment BGWPA Bureau of Ground Water Pollution Abatement BIS Bureau of Information Systems CLP Contract Laboratory Program DSR Division of Science and Research, formerly the Division of Science, Research, and Environmental Health or DSREH FSPM Field Sampling Procedures Manual GIS Geographic Information Systems GPS Global Positioning System HASP Health and Safety Plan HSSE Hazardous Site Science Element ICP Inductively Coupled Plasma N.J.A.C. New Jersey Administrative Code NJDEP New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection or Department N.J.S.A. New Jersey Statutes Annotated ODQ Office of Data Quality OOSH Office of Occupational Safety and Health PAH Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons QAPP Quality Assurance Project Plan SD Standard Deviation SE Standard Error SRWMP Site Remediation and Waste Management Program TCL/TAL Target Compound List/Target Analyte List TOC Total Organic Carbon TRSR Technical Requirements for Site Remediation or Technical Rules USEPA United States Environmental Protection Agency 5 Concentrations of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in New Jersey Soils, NJDEP February 2020 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors wish to recognize that the subject document was made possible through the contributions of the following: Sample Location Selection: David Barskey, Bureau of Environmental Evaluation and Risk Assessment (BEERA), Steven Byrnes, BEERA, Carey Compton, BEERA, Haydar Erdogan, BEERA, Anne Hayton, BEERA, James Kealy, BEERA, Kathleen Kunze, BEERA, Ron Poustchi, BEERA, John Ruhl, BEERA, Bridget Sweeney, BEERA Field Team: Robert Fowler, Bureau of Environmental Measurements and Site Assessment (BEMSA) sample collection, Michael Oudersluys, BEMSA sample collection. Technical Support: Stephanie Oliveira, Office of Occupational Safety and Health (OOSH) was responsible for HASP development, Andrew Cyr, BEMSA drafted the sampled municipalities map. Funding: Monetary support was provided through the Hazardous Waste Research Funding for Fiscal Year 2016 and Fiscal Year 2017 as well as supplemental funding provided by the Site Remediation Waste Management Program. 6 Concentrations of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in New Jersey Soils, NJDEP February 2020 I. INTRODUCTION Purpose Many parties have expressed their opinions about the background concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in the State of New Jersey. These estimates of PAH magnitude in soils varied widely, but generally exceeded the most stringent remediation standards set by Remediation Standards (N.J.A.C. 7:26D). One PAH, benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) proved to be especially problematic for the regulated community because of its low remediation standard, currently 0.5 milligrams BaP per kilogram of dry weight soil (mg/kg) via the ingestion-dermal exposure pathway for a residential exposure, and its frequent observation in remedial investigations. The consequence of these allegations, made primarily by the regulated community, implied that there was no need to remediate certain PAHs because the observed concentrations were actually background and did not require remediation under the Technical Requirements for Site Remediation (N.J.A.C. 7:26E) (TRSR). Separate claims were also made that “clean” material, as defined by the TRSR, needed for remediation could not be found because of the “ubiquitous” presence of PAHs like BaP. Much of this communication occurred during the amendment effort of the Remediation Standards. Because of this the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (Department) and in particular the Site Remediation and Waste Management Program (SRWMP) made a commitment to study and measure PAH concentrations throughout the state, with the purpose