Environmental fate and effects of jet fuel JP-8

Abstract The fate of jet fuel JP-8 was studied in quiescent flask test systems containing water, water/sediment slurries and soil. In water and water/sediment slurries, the major removal process was evaporation. No significant differences were noted between active and sterilized flasks, indicating that biodegradation was not a major factor in removal of JP-8 under these test conditions. When removal in water alone was compared to removal in water/sediment slurries, greater losses were observed in water alone, indicating that the presence of sediment sequesters the jet fuel and renders it less susceptible to volatilization. Removal of some components of JP-8 from active soil was significantly faster than removal in sterilized soil, indicating that biodegradation in soil is compound specific. Microbial activity in water was inhibited by JP-8 whereas activity in water/sediment slurries was enhanced by addition of JP-8.