Subsoil contaminated by hydrocarbons in an out-of-service oil distribution and storage station in Zacatecas,Mexico

A currently out-of-service oil distribution and storage station (ODSS) operated in Zacatecas, Mexico, from 1966 to 2000. At present, it is subject to a dismantling process. In 2000, a project, focused mainly on the characterization of the soil contamination in the ODSS, was required, and the convenience of carrying out a health risk assessment (HRA) to determine the required cleaning-up-levels was stated. The study concluded that the ODSS soil was contaminated mainly by gasoline and diesel, showing the presence of methyl-tertbutylether (MTBE), benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX). Nine of the 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) identified by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as priority hydrocarbons were found in the ODSS subsoil. Selected metals were also considered in the evaluation. The geo-accumulation indexes proposed by Muller for Fe, Pb, V, and Zn showed values characteristic of no geo-accumulation. The HRA suggested the reduction of three PAHs, benzo (a) anthracene, benzo (a) pyrene, and benzo (b) fluoranthene], and vanadium.