A nationwide investigation was conducted to study the frequency of occurrence,
concentration, and distribution of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), other ether gasoline
oxygenates, their degradation byproducts, and 62 other volatile organic compounds in source
water used by community water systems (CWSs) in the United States. The investigation was
comprised of two surveys designed to collect new water quality data. The first, termed the
Random Survey, employed a statistically stratified design for sampling source waters from
randomly selected CWSs. In the second survey, termed the Focused Survey, source water
sampling was biased to locations where MTBE and other gasoline components were suspected or
known to occur. The data from the Random and Focused Surveys of this study indicate that both
ground and surface water sources are vulnerable to MTBE contamination. Utilities that are
most vulnerable include those whose source waters are located in MTBE high-use areas, in
highly populated areas, and those with recreational watercraft use. The detection frequency of
most VOCs was significantly related to urban land use and population density.
Includes 9 references, tables, figures.
| Edition : | Vol. - No. |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 260 KB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 9 |
| Published : | 11/02/2003 |
