Demonstrating a natural origin of chloroform in groundwater using stable carbon isotopes

Environmental Science & Technology
Daniel HunkelerOle Stig Jacobsen

Abstract

Chloroform has been for a long time considered only as an anthropogenic contaminant. The presence of chloroform in forest soil and groundwater has been widely demonstrated. The frequent detection of chloroform in groundwater in absence of other contaminants suggests that chloroform is likely produced naturally. Compound-specific isotope analysis of chloroform was performed on soil-gas and groundwater samples to elucidate whether its source is natural or anthropogenic. The δ(13)C values of chloroform (-22.8 to -26.2‰) present in soil gas collected in a forested area are within the same range as the soil organic matter (-22.6 to -28.2‰) but are more enriched in (13)C compared to industrial chloroform (-43.2 to -63.6‰). The δ(13)C values of chloroform at the water table (-22.0‰) corresponded well to the δ(13)C of soil gas chloroform, demonstrating that the isotope signature of chloroform is maintained during transport through the unsaturated zone. Generally, the isotope signature of chloroform is conserved also during longer range transport in the aquifer. These δ(13)C data support the hypothesis that chloroform is naturally formed in some forest soils. These results may be particularly relevant for authorities' regulation of chlo...Continue Reading

References

May 25, 2002·Environmental Science & Technology·Paul J SquillaceDana W Kolpin
Dec 31, 2002·Journal of Contaminant Hydrology·Orfan Shouakar-StashRobert J Drimmie
May 10, 2003·Chemosphere·Gordon W Gribble
Aug 14, 2009·Environmental Science & Technology·Stefan G HuberJ Williams
Oct 5, 2010·The Science of the Total Environment·Christian Nyrop AlbersOle Stig Jacobsen

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Citations

Aug 21, 2012·Environmental Science & Technology·Calvin C H ChanBarbara Sherwood Lollar
Apr 14, 2016·The Science of the Total Environment·Katya ManamsaAlwyn Hart
Dec 8, 2017·Environmental Microbiology·Siavash AtashgahiHauke Smidt
Jan 16, 2020·Environmental Health Perspectives·Iro EvlampidouCristina M Villanueva
Aug 10, 2020·Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry : RCM·Berhane Abrha AsfawChristoph Schüth
Jan 7, 2021·Environmental Science and Pollution Research International·Parisa Ebrahimbabaie, John Pichtel
Apr 23, 2015·Environmental Science & Technology·Yi ChenPeter Kuschk

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