Form Approved
REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE
OMB No. 0704-0188
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1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank)
2. REPORT DATE
3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED
January 1995
4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE
5. FUNDING NUMBERS
Susceptibility of ABS, FEP, FRE, FRP, PTFE, and PVC Well Casings to
Degradation by Chemicals
6. AUTHORS
Thomas A. Ranney and Louise V. Parker
7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES)
8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION
REPORT NUMBER
U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory
72 Lyme Road
Special Report 95-1
Hanover, New Hampshire 03755-1290
9. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES)
10. SPONSORING/MONITORING
AGENCY REPORT NUMBER
U.S. Army Environmental Center
Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland
SFIM-AEC-ET-CR-94071
11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES
12a. DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
Available from NTIS, Springfield, Virginia 22161
13. ABSTRACT (Maximum 200 words)
This study compares the chemical resistance of four less commonly used materials for casing groundwater
monitoring wells: acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP), fiberglass-rein-
forced epoxy (FRE), and fiberglass-reinforced plastic (FRP), with two more commonly used casing materials:
polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). The six materials were exposed to 28 neat or-
ganic compounds (including one acid) and to extremely acidic and alkaline conditions for up to 112 days. This
was done to simulate some of the most aggressive environments that monitoring well casings may be exposed
to. The casings were observed for changes in weight and signs of physical degradation (swelling, softening,
decrease in strength, deterioration, or dissolution). As expected, the two fluorinated polymers (FEP and PTFE)
were the most inert materials tested. They were not degraded by any of the test chemicals, although samples
exposed to a few organic chemicals did show a slight weight gain (~1%). Among the nonfluorinated products
tested, FRE was the most inert. Three organic chemicals caused particles to flake from the FRE surface, followed
by separation of the glass fibers, and two organic chemicals caused weight gains exceeding 10%. Also, highly
acidic conditions (pH <1) degraded this material, and this may limit the use of this material in acidic environ-
ments. ABS was the most readily degraded material. By the end of the study, only the acid and alkaline so-
lutions had little effect on ABS. FRP was more severely degraded by the organic chemicals than FRE was, but
was less affected than PVC. Like FRE, FRP was also degraded under highly acidic conditions.
14. SUBJECT TERMS
15. NUMBER OF PAGES
Organic chemicals
18
ABS
FEP
FRP
PTFE
16. PRICE CODE
Chemical degradation
FRE
Groundwater monitoring wells
PVC
17. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION
18. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION
19. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION
20. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT
OF REPORT
OF THIS PAGE
OF ABSTRACT
UNCLASSIFIED
UNCLASSIFIED
UNCLASSIFIED
UL
Standard Form 298 (Rev. 2-89)
NSN 7540-01-280-5500
Prescribed by ANSI Std. Z39-18
298-102
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