Semianalytical Model Predicting Transfer of Volatile Pollutants from Groundwater to the Soil Surface

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Volatilization of toxic organic contaminants from groundwater to the soil surface is often considered an important pathway in risk analysis. Most of the risk models use simplified linear solutions that may overpredict the volatile flux. Although complex numerical models have been developed, their use is restricted to experienced users and for sites where field data are known in great detail. We present here a novel semianalytical model running on a spreadsheet that simulates the volatilization flux and vertical concentration profile in a soil based on the Van Genuchten functions. These widely used functions describe precisely the gas and water saturations and movement in the capillary fringe. The analytical model shows a good accuracy over several orders of magnitude when compared to a numerical model and laboratory data. The effect of barometric pumping is also included in the semianalytical formulation, although the model predicts that barometric pumping is often negligible. A sensitivity study predicts significant fluxes in sandy vadose zones and much smaller fluxes in other soils. Fluxes are linked to the dimensionless Henry's law constant H for H < 0.2 and increase by approximately 20% when temperature increases from 5 to 25 degrees C.