Are PAH Clean-Up Methods on Long Island Solving One Problem but Creating Another?
A variety of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been detected at high concentrations in the surficial aquifer of Long Island, due to storage and disposal of coal tar at a former manufactured gas plant, in Bay Shore, NY. The Suffolk County Department of Health Services (SCDHS) has been monitoring the use of an oxygen-gas injection system installed to reduce the contaminants in the groundwater. While the method has been successful at reducing common PAHs in groundwater around the injection sites, the SCDHS is concerned about degradation products noted in several studies that show the potential to generate oxygenated forms of PAHs, or oxy-PAHs. Reports indicate some oxy-PAHs may be harmful to aquatic ecosystems, and may even be more toxic than their parent compounds. The U.S. Geological Survey has been working with the SCDHS to develop methods of analysis and measure concentrations of oxy-PAHs present in the groundwater to better understand the potential fate of some PAHs when e
