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Characterization and fingerprinting of soil and groundwater contamination sources around a fuel distribution station in Galicia (NW Spain)

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Abstract

Soil and groundwater contamination around a fuel distribution station in Tomiño (NW Spain) was evaluated. For this purpose, top and subsoil (up to 6.4 m) and groundwater were sampled around the station, approximately in a 60-m radius. Samples were analysed by HS-SPME-GC-MS to identify and quantify volatile fuel organic compounds (VFOC) (MTBE, ETBE and BTEX) and diesel range organics (DRO). Analysis and fingerprinting data suggested that the contamination of soil and groundwater was provoked by a fuel leak from underground storage tanks. This was reflected by hydrocarbon indices and principal component analysis, which discriminated a direct source of contamination of the subsoil samples around the station. The contaminants probably migrated from tank nearby soils to surrounding soils and leached to groundwater, following a SW direction. Irrigation with contaminated groundwater provoked a severe contamination of topsoils, which were enriched with the lightest components of gasoline and diesel. Fingerprinting also revealed the continuity of the leak, reflected by the presence of volatiles in some samples, which principally appeared in fresh leaks. MTBE was detected in a very high concentration in groundwater samples (up to 690 μg L−1), but it was not detected in fresh gasoline. This also evidenced an old source of contamination, probably starting in the mid-1990s, when the use of MTBE in gasoline was regulated.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Galician Government (Consellería de Innovación e Industria of Xunta de Galicia) (INCITE08PXIB200136PR) and by the Spanish Government (Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad) and FEDER (CTM2009-14576-C02-02 and PhD grant for M. Balseiro BES-2010-030923).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, University of Santiago de Compostela, Campus Vida, 15782, Santiago de Compostela, Spain

    María Balseiro-Romero, Felipe Macías & Carmen Monterroso

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  1. María Balseiro-Romero
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  2. Felipe Macías
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  3. Carmen Monterroso
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Correspondence to María Balseiro-Romero.

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Balseiro-Romero, M., Macías, F. & Monterroso, C. Characterization and fingerprinting of soil and groundwater contamination sources around a fuel distribution station in Galicia (NW Spain). Environ Monit Assess 188, 292 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-016-5288-1

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