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README(PCE CONTAMINATION).md

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  • Chlorinated solvents are one of the most prevalent contaminants of groundwater in North America (ITRC, 2008; Stroo et al., 2003; Stroo et al., 2014). Perchloroethene (a.k.a. perchloroethylene or PCE) and trichloroethene (TCE) are typically found in dry cleaning chemicals, adhesives, shoe polish, spot removers, paint products, degreasers, and many other common products. As a result, they are found at 80% of all Superfund sites and over 3000 U.S. Department of Defence (US DoD) sites.

  • The cost of cleaning up these sites is estimated at several billion dollars, with the US DoD estimated to spend over 100 million dollars with additional life cycle costs that exceed 2 billion dollars dollars (Stroo et al., 2003). PCE and TCE are particularly difficult to clean up because they are highly insoluble and denser than water (DNAPL). Due to their physical properties, once PCE and TCE are introduced to the subsurface, they will migrate down below the water table and remain in the subsurface for a long time.

  • In addition, since the DNAPL is typically very deep, excavation is logistically impossible or otherwise astronomically expensive. Modern remediation strategies for PCE and TCE include in-situ bioremediation (ISB), in-situ chemical oxidation (ISCO), in-situ air sparging, surfactant flushing, cosolvent flushing, and six-phase heating (Stroo et al., 2003). Many remediation strategies produce gas (ex. methane and carbon dioxide) as well as daughter products that can be harmful and volatile. PCE and TCE remediation technologies have a large amount of uncertainty before implementation and are still being studied and developed.

In this project I will use the Toxic Release Inventory dataset provided by the EPA to show the total reported releases in the US over time.

9. Software artifact screen shots. Please note that the output is interactive

  • Below is the choropleth of PCE reported release in pounds in each state for every available year in the dataset. image-0

  • Map demo with total releases and industry sector image-2

  • Heatmap of TCE toxic releases reported to the US EPA in 2016: image-1

  • Chlorinated ethylene releases over time image-3