ON DEMAND - The Mysteries of TRH – Dealing with Weathered Petroleum

The assessment of exposure to petroleum hydrocarbons includes the evaluation of total recoverable hydrocarbons (TRH) or total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH). Guidelines established for the assessment of TRH are based on mixtures of petroleum hydrocarbons, with the NEPM Health Screening Levels (HSLs) based on a petrol/diesel mix. These guidelines incorporate assumptions on the toxicity of the aromatic and aliphatic petroleum hydrocarbons in various carbon fraction groups.

In reality, TRH reported in analysis of soil and water at many sites does not only comprise petroleum hydrocarbons but can also comprise a range of other compounds derived from other hydrocarbon sources or the weathering of petroleum hydrocarbons. These mixtures can be complex and require more consideration and assessment in relation to site contamination. The toxicity of other chemicals captured within the analysis (such as chlorinated hydrocarbons as well as natural organic matter and polar metabolites), differs from that of petroleum hydrocarbons mixtures assumed in our guidelines.

This webinar will provide an overview of the issues relevant to assessing TRH, focusing on weathered petroleum hydrocarbons in the environment and the weathering of petroleum hydrocarbons in the environment to form polar metabolites, what these compounds comprise, the use of silica-gel clean-up, factors important for evaluating exposure and toxicity and the approach adopted for assessing these compounds in a site assessment or risk assessment.

The presentation will be followed by a question and answer session. If you cannot attend on the day, you can still get the benefit, as the session will be recorded and available to view later.

ABOUT THE PRESENTER

Dr Jackie Wright, Director, enRiskS
Dr Jackie Wright is the Director of Environmental Risk Sciences (enRiskS) with over 30 years’ experience in human health and environmental toxicology and risk assessment. She has completed her PhD in environmental and public health at Flinders University where she continues to undertake several research projects.