Hydrogeology, ground-water quality, and potential for water-supply contamination near an abandoned wood-preserving plant site at Jackson, Tennessee

Hydrogeologic and ground-water-quality data were collected near an abandoned wood-preserving plant site at Jackson, Tennessee to determine the extent and magnitude of ground-water contamination in offsite areas and to assess the potential for contamination of nearby water-supply wells. New methods were used to collect ground-water samples from the alluvial aquifer at six offsite stations at depths of less than about 40 feet below land surface. In addition, 36 offsite wells were installed at these stations to collect samples from the alluvial aquifer and to depths of about 150 feet in the deeper Fort Pillow aquifer. Ground-water samples collected by the new methods and from the 36 offsite wells were analyzed for selected volatile and semi-volatile compounds. The samples collected from the 36 wells also were analyzed for major and trace inorganic constituents. Naphthalene and some volatile organic compounds were detected at low concentrations in samples from both the alluvial aquifer and the Fort Pillow aquifer. To assess the potential for water-supply contamination from the site, four water-supply wells to the east (upgradient) and three wells to the west (down- gradient) of the abandoned plant site were sampled. These samples were analyzed for the same analytes as the samples from the 36 wells. Although volatile organic compounds and elevated concentrations of trace and major inorganic constituents were measured in samples from some wells east of the site, no organic compounds associated with the wood- preserving process were detected. No contaminants from the site were detected in samples from wells west of the site.