Cleanup Levels for Petroleum Contaminated Soil. D. Wong, BEM Systems, Florham Park, N.J
State regulatory agencies have developed various "Action Levels" or "Cleanup Levels" that established the residual level of petroleum products allowed remaining in soil from a spill or leak. However, there is no consensus on the required analytical parameters, laboratory testing protocol, numerical standards or guidelines, and the methodologies for their derivation. While it is generally agreed that benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, and xylenes are the parameters to be analyzed for gasoline contaminated soil, the required analytical parameters for fuel oil (especially diesel fuel) contaminated soil vary among the states. The numerical standards and guidelines and the methodologies for their derivation differ even more. This is partly due to a lack of toxicological information on aliphatic hydrocarbons which are the main constituents in diesel fuel. This paper critically reviews the analytical parameters and approaches commonly used by the different states in deriving cleanup levels for petroleum contaminated soil, and proposes a risk-based methodology.