Dror, I., Institute of Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, Volcani Center, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel, Clemson Institute of Environmental Toxicology, Clemson University, 509 Westinghouse Drive, Lendleton, SC 29670, United States
Gerstl, Z., Institute of Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, Volcani Center, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel
Yaron, B., Institute of Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, Volcani Center, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel

A field experiment was designed to determine the combined effect of leaching and natural attenuation on the redistribution dynamics of kerosene-a volatile petroleum hydrocarbon mixture (VPHM)-and of its selected individual components in the soil subsurface. Variables included the composition of contaminant spilled, the soil water content before contamination and the leaching pattern. Temporal changes in the residual kerosene concentration and composition in the soil subsurface of the experimental field during 39 days and leaching by 500 mm of irrigation water were determined to a depth of 100 cm.The main processes controlling contaminant attenuation were volatilization and redistribution with depth. Soil hydration status was found to affect the attenuation, redistribution and composition of VPHM in the porous media. An initial relative increase of n-alkanes in the subsurface compared with the total VPHM in the first leaching period was a result of the volatilization of low vapor pressure compounds. The redistribution of individual components in the soil profile during leaching was in accordance with their physico-chemical properties. Copyright © 2001 Elsevier Science B.V.