| Abstract: | This article provides actual site data that confirm that turbid ground water samples collected from within the smear zone at petroleum release sites can be significantly biased high by the inclusion of a nondissolved component that is an artifact of the sampling process. Side-by-side comparisons show that reducing sample turbidity can result in significant reductions of reported concentrations for the ground water samples and that the lower turbidity results are more representative of the petroleum actually dissolved in the ground water. Depending on site-specific factors, ground water sample turbidity can be reduced by four field-based and two laboratory-based methods. These methods should be used routinely at sites where turbid samples with a nondissolved component are being collected. |
