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
November 1995
4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE
5. FUNDING NUMBERS
Enhanced Preservation of Volatile Organic Compounds in Soil
With Sodium Bisulfate
6. AUTHORS
Alan D. Hewitt
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 95-26
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 21010-5401
SFIM-AEC-ET-CR-95081
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)
Sodium bisulfate (NaHSO4) was evaluated as a means of chemically preserving soil samples to prevent the
microbiological degradation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Laboratory sample treatment consisted of
spiking soil samples held in glass ampoules with aqueous solutions containing eight different VOCs or gasoline
and then sealing them to eliminate volatilization as a concern. Samples preserved with NaHSO4 were held at
room temperature (22C), while equal numbers of unpreserved samples were stored refrigerated (4C) and at
room temperature. Results show that concentrations of all of the halogenated hydrocarbons tested (14) remain
fairly constant, independent of temperature or preservation. In contrast, all the aromatic hydrocarbons (10)
tested as separate analytes, or ones that could easily be identified in gasoline, experienced a complete (>95%)
loss when held for nine days at room temperature. Refrigeration reduced the rate of biodegradation, but two
aromatic hydrocarbons showed substantial losses (>80%) within the currently recommended 14-day holding
period. Over a 28-day refrigerated period, reductions of greater than 95% occurred for 9 of 10 aromatic
hydrocarbons tested. With the exception of styrene, chemical preservation by introducing NaHSO4 mitigated
the loss of all of aromatic hydrocarbons tested over a 28-day holding period when samples were stored at room
temperature. Therefore, NaHSO4 preservation is one way of effectively eliminating biodegradation of VOCs in
soil samples intended for low level (<1-g/g) analysis.
14. SUBJECT TERMS
15. NUMBER OF PAGES
23
Biodegradation
Sodium bisulfate
16. PRICE CODE
Preservation
Volatile organic compounds
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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