The Potential for Ground Water Contamination by the Gasoline Lead Scavengers Ethylene Dibromide and 1,2‐Dichloroethane

Abstract

Ethylene dibromide (EDB) is a synthetic organic chemical that was produced in large amounts for use as a leaded gasoline additive and pesticide. The chlorinated solvent 1,2‐dichlorethane (1,2‐DCA) is widely used in the chemical industry, and was also added to leaded gasoline. EDB and 1,2‐DCA are classified as probable human carcinogens by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), and EDB's use as a pesticide was suspended in 1984. The current U.S. EPA maximum contaminant level (MCL) for EDB in drinking water is 0.05 μg/L, and the MCL for 1,2‐DCA is 5 μg/L. EDB has proven to be both mobile and persistent in ground water, and contamination of ground water by EDB was documented in several states beginning in the early 1980s. The majority of this contamination is attributed to agricultural uses of EDB; however, ∼90% of the EDB produced was used as a leaded gasoline additive and it was present in virtually all leaded gasoline sold in the United States. 1,2‐DCA is commonly found as a ground water contaminant, and it is both mobile and persistent. Past investigations and remediation efforts at sites contaminated by leaded gasoline have rarely addressed the potential for EDB or 1,2‐DCA contamination. For this reason, there is a substantial likelihood that undetected EDB and 1,2‐DCA plumes above the MCL may exist at many sites where leaded gasoline leaked or spilled.

Kinetics of 1,2-Dichloroethane and 1,2-Dibromoethane Biodegradation in Anaerobic Enrichment Cultures

“…For this study, 1,2-DCA and EDB concentrations of Յ4.5 and Յ2.2 mg/liter, respectively, were considered to be representative of the levels found near the source zones at leaded-gasoline release sites (4). Separate experiments were performed at these lower concentrations in the manner described above, except that only one addition of 1,2-DCA and/or EDB was made and only one set of triplicates was evaluated.…”

“…Of 1,100 sites evaluated in South Carolina, 537 had EDB levels higher than its MCL. The predicted maximum concentrations of EDB and 1,2-DCA in groundwater from a leaded-gasoline release site are 1.9 and 3.7 mg/liter, respectively (4). The co-occurrence of 1,2-DCA and EDB has also been reported for at least one industrial site, where their concentrations in the vicinity of the source area were approximately 100 and 10 mg/liter, respectively (5).…”

Vertical Screening Distance Criteria to Evaluate Vapor Intrusion Risk from 1,2‐Dichloroethane (1,2‐DCA)

“…A combination of 1,2‐dichloroethane (1,2‐DCA, also called ethylene dichloride) and 1,2‐dibromoethane, also called ethylene dibromide (EDB) was added to leaded gasoline as lead scavengers to prevent lead oxide deposits from fouling the internal combustion engines of automobiles (Falta et al ). Use of lead scavengers in automobile gasoline started in the mid‐1920s and continued until it was phased out beginning in the late 1980s (Falta ; US EPA ). Leaded automobile gasoline contained 1,2‐DCA and EDB at concentrations in the range of several hundreds of mg/L (Falta et al ).…”

Investigation of Heavy Metal Contamination in the Groundwater Resources, Oshtorinan, Southwest Iran

“…3a and 3b show the spatial distribution of Fe and Pb using interpolation method in GIS environment. Lead contamination of the ground water may be the result of entry from industrial effluents, old plumbing, household sewages, agricultural run-off containing phosphate fertilizers and human and animal excreta (Ritter, 2002;Sirajudeen and Abdul Jameel, 2006;Falta, 2004;Savci, 2012). In addition to the symptoms found in acute lead exposure, symptoms of chronic lead exposure could be allergies, arthritis, hyperactivity, mood swings, nausea, and numbness, lack of concentration, seizures and weight loss.…”