Surface Spills

Acrylonitrile is both readily volatile in air (0.13 atm at 23° C) (Mabey et al. 1982) and highly soluble in water (79,000 mg/L) (Klein et al. 1957). These characteristics dominate the behavior of acrylonitrile in the environment. While present in air, acrylonitrile has little tendency to adsorb to particulate matter (Cupitt 1980), so air transport of volatilized material is determined mainly by wind speed and direction. Similarly, acrylonitrile dissolved in water has only a low tendency to adsorb to suspended soils or sediments (Roy and Griffin 1985), so surface transport is determined by water flow parameters. Based on its relatively high water solubility, acrylonitrile is expected to be higly mobile in moist soils. In addition, acrylonitrile may penetrate into groundwater from surface spills or from contaminated surface water. The high vapor pressure indicates that evaporation from dry soil samples is expected to occur rapidly (EPA 1987). 

Another phenomenon associated with a crude oil fire is stopover. Basically, die same principles that are responsible for a boilover are the cause of a stopover. The fundamental difference is that in a stopover the reaction is from water that has entered the tank since the start of the fire. Usually this introduction is die result of firefighting activities. A slopover will occur at some point after the heat wave lias been formed. Eidier the water from the hose streams or, after the bubbles collapse, the water in the foam will sink into the oil, contacting the heat wave, where it is converted to steam, and die agitation of the liquid surface spills some amount of oil over the tank rim. 

Two types of land spills are discussed — those that occur primarily on the surface of the land and those that occur partially or totally in the subsurface. The sources and the cleanup methods differ for these types of spills. Most surface spills in Canada are the result of oil production, such as spills from pipelines and battery sites, whereas most subsurface spills are from leaking underground fuel storage tanks or pipelines. Whether on the surface or subsurface, however, each spill is unique in terms of the type of material spilled, the habitat in which the oil is spilled, its location, and the weather conditions during and after the spill. 

Slumping is not the only problem that must be considered when dealing with surface spills. Most dense clouds contain aerosols which require the following phenomena to be modeled ... 

Marcellus Shale) suspected contamination Stray gas in wells, surface spills contaminated Determine if surface spills affect surface and ground water If contamination exists, determine potential source of contaminants in drinking water Atlas Energy, LP... 

Appropriate disinfectant should be applied following any spill of potentially infectious materials or at the end of daily work to decontaminate laboratory work surfaces. Spill kits (containing absorbent pads and/or neutralizing agents) should be prepared for all frequently used chemicals or biological waste. 

In addition to these common sources from consumer products, chemicals can also volatilize from the soil and groundwater beneath structures into indoor air, as shown in figure 10.6. These volatile chemicals are present in the subsurface from releases associated with industrial activities, including leaking underground fuel tanks (e.g., benzene, MTBE, and other petroleum-related chemicals), surface spills (followed by downward percolation of chemicals to groundwater and lateral transport beneath structures), and other environmental releases. 

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