Environmental Engineer:
Applied Research and Practice

Treatment Options for Remediation of 1,4-Dioxane in Groundwater

Authors: William DiGuiseppi, P.G., and Caroline Whitesides, P.G.

Abstract

The solvent stabilizer 1,4-dioxane has emerged in the environmental engineering arena as an unexpected and recalcitrant groundwater contaminant at many sites across the US. Decreases in the analytical detection limit in water have revealed the presence of this contaminant in sites where no 1,4-dioxane was identified during earlier, higher MDL sampling events. Toxicological studies suggest that 1,4-dioxane may be harmful, and it has been designated as a probable human carcinogen. However, the toxicity of 1,4-dioxane is in dispute and the United States Environmental Protection Agency is in the process of reviewing the toxicological information on 1,4-dioxane towards potentially revising the oral cancer slope factor and associated risk screening levels. Chemical characteristics of 1,4-Dioxane, such as high mobility, enable it to migrate much further than the solvent from which it likely originated. This has challenged remedial project managers to redesign treatment systems and monitoring networks to accommodate widespread contamination. This paper summarizes the fate and transport characteristics of 1,4-dioxane and presents current thinking in the environmental engineering community related to remedial technologies that may be applicable to groundwater treatment. At this point in time, ex-situ remediation has been performed at numerous sites for 1,4-dioxane, but no full scale in-situ remediation projects have been completed.

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