Modeling gasoline dispersion and risks in soil after the 2019 spill in Tlahuelilpan, Hidalgo, using the HSSM and ChemCAN software
Mabel Vaca Mier
Autonomous Metropolitan University-Azcapotzalco Campus, Department of Energy
Raymundo Lopez
Autonomous Metropolitan University-Azcapotzalco Campus, Department of Energy
Zaira Miranda
Autonomous Metropolitan University-Azcapotzalco Campus, Department of Energy
Araceli Lara
Autonomous Metropolitan University-Azcapotzalco Campus, Department of Energy
Georgina Guzmán
National Autonomous University of Mexico, Engineering Institute
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59429/ce.v2i2.7454
Keywords: gasoline spill, HSSM software, ChemCAN software, infiltration model, risk assessment
Abstract
The dispersion of gasoline from the spill due to illegal fuel extraction activities from pipelines that occurred in Tlahuelilpan, Hidalgo, in 2019, was modelled. We used the HSSM software (vertical profile of gasoline saturation, profiles in the vadose zone, and radial profile of the light non-aqueous phase liquid lens), and prediction of its concentration in different media was obtained using the ChemCAN program. Gasoline infiltration would reach 7.5 meters deep at a rate of 0.30 mg/day in 10 days. Assuming that the vadose zone was at 10 m, the underground body of water would not be reached by the hydrocarbon. It was estimated that the maximum concentration of gasoline for the light fraction present in the soil was 2,200 mg/kg, ten times above the maximum permissible regulated limits. Benzene, a characteristic compound of gasoline, was studied in air-water-soil-sediment system, and it was observed that it would preferably accumulate in the sediments (84.9%) and the soil (11.8%), being the systems in greater contact with gasoline. The greatest risk due to the spillage during three subsequent years was related to the surface of the soil, affecting the flora, fauna, and population with exposure by inhalation and dermal contact, and the flammable danger of gasoline.
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