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Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC)

(Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

Volatile organic compounds are compounds that have a high vapor pressure and low water solubility. Many VOCs are human-made chemicals that are used and produced in the manufacture of paints, pharmaceuticals, and refrigerants. VOCs typically are industrial solvents, such as trichloroethylene; fuel oxygenates, such as methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE); or by-products produced by chlorination in water treatment, such as chloroform. VOCs are often components of petroleum fuels, hydraulic fluids, paint thinners, and dry cleaning agents. VOCs are common ground-water contaminants.

VOC Related Headlines

Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE)

• Used Motor Oil a Potential Source of MTBE in Ground Water
• The Atmosphere - A Potential Source of MTBE to Ground Water
• Using Oxygen to Clean Up Ground-Water Contamination
• MTBE Can Degrade Naturally Without Oxygen
• MTBE Biodegrades Naturally in Stream Sediments
• Natural Attenuation of MTBE at Laurel Bay, South Carolina
• Microorganisms Degrade MTBE Even at Winter Ground-Water Temperatures
• Ground-Water Recharge Affects Fate of Petroleum Contaminant Plumes
• Predicting Plume Growth Rates - A Simple Method for Calculating Growth Rates of Petroleum Plumes
• Using Oxygen to Enhance Biodegradation of Contaminants -- Lessons Learned
• Improving Cleanup of Contamination from Oil and Gas Production

Chlorinated Solvents

• DNAPL Removal Key to Accelerated, Less Expensive Remediation
• SERDP/ESTCP Invests in Technologies Developed by the Toxics Program
• What Controls the Migration of Chlorinated Solvents in Fractured Rock?
• History and Ecology of Chloroethene Biodegradation--A Review

Toxics Program Research on VOCs

• Geochemical and Microbiological Processes that Affect Migration and Natural Attenuation of Chlorinated Solvents in Fractured Sedimentary Rock - Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC) Research Site, West Trenton, NJ
• Waste Disposal and Contaminant Migration in the Arid Southwest - Amargosa Desert Research Site, Nevada
• Crude Oil Contamination in the Shallow Subsurface - Bemidji, Minnesota
• Processes Affecting the Natural Attenuation of Fuels in Ground Water
  • Fuel Oxygenates - Laurel Bay, South Carolina
  • Gasoline - Galloway Township, New Jersey
• Fate of Landfill Leachate - Norman Municipal Landfill, Norman, Oklahoma
• Processes that Control the Natural Attenuation of Chlorinated Solvents
  • Microbial Degradation of Chloroethenes in Ground Water Systems
  • Application of Molecular Methods in Microbial Ecology to Understand the Natural Attenuation of Chlorinated Solvents

Toxics Program Remediation of VOC-Related Activities

Hydrocarbons and Fuel Oxygenates

• Biodegradation of Charcoal Production Wastes, Kingsford, Michigan
• Cold-Temperature Biodegradation of Methyl Tert-Butyl Ether (MTBE) in Ground Water, Almena Agricenter Site, Almena, Kansas
• Oil Recovery Performance Monitoring, Bemidji, MN
• Oxygen-Release Compound Remediation Tests, Laurel Bay, SC
• Quanitfying Natural Attenuation at the Plume Scale, Galloway Township, NJ
• Using Phytoremediation to Control Fuel Oxygenate Plumes in Northern Climates, Flathead Indian Reservation, Ronan, Montana
• Vapor Extraction Optimization, Galloway Township, NJ

Chlorinated Solvents

• Can Trees Clean Up Ground Water? Phytoremediation of Trichloroethene-Contaminated Ground Water, Air Force Plant 4, Fort Worth, Texas
• Chlorinated Benzene Plume Source Area Containment Test (Oxygen-Release Compound Injection), Naval Air Station, Pensacola, FL
• Phytoremediation in the Desert?, Amargosa Desert Research Site, NV
• Quantifying Subsurface Biodegredation, Norman Municipal Landfill, Norman, OK
• Solvent Plume Source Removal Test (Fenton's Reagent), Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, GA
• Subsurface Reactive Barrier, Massachusetts Military Reservation, Cape Cod, MA
• Using Humic Acids to Enhance Oxidative Bioremediation of Chlorinated Solvents, Altus Air Force Base, Altus, Oklahoma

USGS Information on VOCs

• NAWQA National Synthesis--Volatile Organic Compounds
• Volatile Organic Compounds in the Nation's Ground Water and Drinking-Water Supply Wells: USGS Circular 1292
• Sample-Collection and Sample-Processing Procedures for Common Organic Compounds, USGS National Field Manual for the Collection of Water-Quality Data
• Guidance on the Use of Passive-Vapor-Diffusion Samplers to Detect Volatile Organic Compounds in Ground-Water-Discharge Areas, and Example Applications in New England: Water-Resources Investigations Report 02-4186

References

• Rathbun, R.E., 1998, Transport, behavior, and fate of volatile organic compounds in streams: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1589, 151 p.
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Emission Inventory Reporting Requirements, Definitions, 40 CFR 51.100.s (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's regulatory definition of volatile organic compounds in the Federal Code of Regulations (CFR), available at GPOAccess.gov
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Volatile organic compounds (VOC), Substance Registry System, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (html document)
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Volatile organic compounds (VOC), Terminology Reference System, U.S. Envirionmental Protection Agency (html document)
• U.S. Geological Survey, 2005, Water Resources Data - Definition of Terms: U.S. Geological Survey (pdf document)
• Zogorski, J.S., Carter, J.M., Ivahnenko, Tamara, Lapham, W.W., Moran, M.J., Rowe, B.L., Squillace, P.J., and Toccalino, P.L., 2006, The Quality of Our Nation’s Waters--Volatile Organic Compounds in the Nation’s Ground Water and Drinking-Water Supply Wells: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1292, p. 101.