Abstract
1,4-dioxane is a toxic chemical substance which means to be difficult to take on-site soil investigation, compared with VOCs, because it has not been elucidated scientifically on geo-environmental behaviors. This study focuses on the partitioning and the distribution of 1,4-dioxane in soil, water and gas phases for inorganic soil and organic soils. The equilibrium concentrations in soil interlarded by 1,4-dioxane have been obtained under various conditions (pH, moisture content and water retention). The results showed that the distribution ratio of 1,4-dioxane to soil was 0.1 ~ 5.0%. However, under alkaline condition (pH 13), 1,4-dioxane could be distributed in the soil by an amount as much as 20%. The phrase soil water retention ability, 1,4-dioxane concentration largely changed due to the dilution of pore water in the soil with low organic content. Thus, it can be concluded that the majority of released 1,4-dioxane into the environment migrates to pore water in soil structure or into groundwater, unless it changed to a distinctive environmental conditions of high alkali and/or low water retention.
