TPH Criteria Working Group Field Demonstration: Harrier Jet Crash Site, Fairborn, OH

The site of a Harrier jet crash near Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, was selected as a demonstration site for the Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon Criteria Working Group approach. The Working Group approach assesses total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) mixtures in 13 fate and transport fraction as and applies best available toxicity criteria to each of the fractions to develop Risk Based Screening Levels (RBSLs). The resulting petroleum release at the crash site consisted of JP-8 jet fuel and was limited to surface soil. The impacted soil was exposed to environmental conditions for two weeks prior to sampling, allowing evaporative, photo and some biological weathering to occur. The residential and corumercial RBSLs developed using the Working Group protocol were approximately 4 and 11 times here, respectively, than those determined using the Category 3 levels indicated by the Ohio EPA Guidance for Emergency Response. The RBSLs developed for this sit were especially suitable due to the lack of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, beazene, toluene, ethylberizene or xylenes. The Working Group approach not only can result in cost saving due to more reasonable cleanup levels, but it also provides a much better understanding of the remaining constituents in a complex weathered mixture.