How Do Petroleum Hydrocarbons Plumes Really Behave

1
How Do Petroleum Hydrocarbons Plumes Really
Behave?

• In the Mid 1990s Several Plume-a-Thons were
  Completed by
• Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
• Texas Bureau of Economic Geology
• Chevron

2
Fuel Hydrocarbon Solute Plume Studies

• 1995 - Chevron Oil study
• Evaluation of 119 gasoline station hydrocarbon
  spills unpublished data
• Evaluated historical data from 119 service
  stations

Undecided
13
Stable
35
Shrinking
52
92 of plumes lt 200 feet long
3
Fuel Hydrocarbon Solute Plume Studies (contd)

• 1995 - Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
  Report
• Study for California State Water Resources
  Control Board (Plume-a-thon)
• Evaluated historical data from over 1000 fuel
  spills

Growing
8
Shrinking
33
Stable
59
Most plumes lt 250 feet long
4
Fuel Hydrocarbon Solute Plume Studies (contd)

• 1997 - Texas fuel hydrocarbon plume study
• Mace et al -- Texas Bureau of Economic Geology
• Evaluated historical data from 605 fuel sites

Unknown
Growing
1
3
Shrinking
34
Stable
62
75 of plumes lt 250 feet long
5
Texas Plume Study
Plume Length
Unknown
Growing
1
3
Shrinking
34
Stable
Plume Mass (ave. concentration)
62
Unknown
n 219
Growing
1
Stable
14
27
Shrinking
n 227
58
6
Percentage of Plumes of Different Lengths (604)
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