CASE STUDY OF PETROLEUM CONTAMINATED MARITIME TERMINAL OF DOS BOCAS IN MEXICO

Manuel Muriel*
Samuel Flores Pérez
Instituto Mexicano del Petróleo
A.P. 13, Centro Cd del Carmen, Cam. Mexico
Voice: 938 381 2044
Fax: 938 381 2051
E-mail: mmuriel@imp.mx

Alfredo Castro Lobato
Fernando Casados Ponce
Petróleos Mexicanos
GTDH PEMEX Exploracion y Produccion RMSO
Paraiso, Tab, Mexico

Oil transportation and distribution in Dos Bocas' Maritime Terminal (DBMT) are the largest in Mexico, accounting for about 70% of national production. However, because of importance and the emerging cleaning standards it was required to characterize the soil and groundwater of DBMT. The contamination is due to 20 years of activities, with temporary discharge to the soil layer. The contents of oil, in the soil were in the range of 7 to 149,080 mg/kg. The first soil layer and beneath it, above the groundwater were characterized, including Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), BTEX and metals. The spreading of this pollution could imperil the groundwater quality in the water supply zone, because DBMT is located in the close to a populated zone. The quality of groundwater samples was monitored from 1998 to 2001 by measuring concentrations of hydrocarbons and PAH. The measured value of hydrocarbon content in the groundwater was about 26.1 mg/kg at the time of the beginning of characterization study. Immediately after the remediation, the concentration of mineral oil in the surface was below 2000 mg/kg, in all places originally polluted inside the DBMT. At the same time, PAH concentrations in the soil were almost negligible.