Estimation of K sub(oc) values for deuterated benzene, toluene, and ethylbenzene, and application to ground water contamination studies

Sorption partition coefficients between water and organic carbon (K sub(oc)) for deuterated benzene, toluene, and ethylbenzene have been estimated by measuring values of the octanol-water partition coefficient (K sub(ow)) and HPLC retention factors (k'), which correlate closely to values of K sub(oc). Measured values of log K sub(ow) for non-deuterated and deuterated toluene are 2.77 ( plus or minus 0.02) and 2.78 ( plus or minus 0.04), respectively, indicating that within experimental error, log K sub(oc) for deuterated and non-deuterated toluene are the same. The HPLC method provides greater precision, and yields values of Delta log K sub(oc) (= log K sub(oc) [deuterated] - log K sub(oc) [non-deuterated]) of -0.021 ( plus or minus 0.001) for benzene, -0.028 ( plus or minus 0.002) for toluene, and -0.035 ( plus or minus 0.003) for ethylbenzene. The small values of Delta log K sub(oc) demonstrates that deuterated compounds are excellent tracers for the hydrologic behavior of ground water contaminants.