Locating plume sources of multiple chlorinated contaminants in groundwater by analyzing seasonal hydrological responses in an industrial complex, Wonju, Korea

Abstract

An area accommodating various industrial facilities has fairly high probability of groundwater contamination with multiple chlorinated solvents. Source identification of multiple chlorinated solvents is an essential procedure for the management and remediation of contaminated groundwater. Hydrogeologic investigations and periodic collection of groundwater chemical data in an industrial complex in Wonju, Korea were used for the source identification of multiple chlorinated solvents. In this study, an example is presented highlighting the potential impact of seasonal rainfall events as the key factor for discriminating between contaminant sources. This method was effective in identifying and allocating sources of small contaminant plumes masked by a major contaminant plume. The apparent main sources of high concentration multiple chlorinated contaminants such as trichloroethene, carbon tetrachloride, and chloroform were located in the uppermost area of the study site. By using the proposed method, additional contaminant source locations were identified. This result demonstrates that source allocation is effective by using simply concentration data under the influence of temporal groundwater recharge. When this method is incorporated with compound-specific stable isotope analysis based on the chemical evolution of the chlorinated contaminants, the source identification results can be more decisive in a complex study area with multiple overlapping plumes.