Organic compounds in ground water near a sanitary landfill in the Town of Brookhaven, Long Island, New York

Landfill leachate and groundwater near the Brookhaven landfill site were analyzed for volatile, acid-extractable, and base/neutral-extractable organic compounds classified by EPA as ' priority pollutants, ' and for dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and inorganic constituents. Thirteen priority pollutants were detected, including benzene, chlorobenzene, ethyl benzene, and naphthalene. The most commonly detected priority pollutant, benzene, was found in the landfill leachate and in five groundwater samples. The concentration of ethyl benzene was the highest of all organic compounds detected--55 micrograms/L (ug/L) in the leachate. Three samples downgradient from the site contained detectable levels of priority pollutants; two of these from wells 2000 ft downgradient from the site, contained trace amounts of chloroform, and the other, from a well 500 ft downgradient, contained four priority pollutants in concentrations totaling less than 20 ug/L. DOC concentrations ranged from 410 mg/L in the leachate to 0.8 mg/L, which is considered background level for groundwater upgradient of the landfill site. Samples from downgradient wells contained less than 8 mg/L DOC except at two wells 500 ft from the site, which contained 21 and 16 mg/L. (Author 's abstract)