LTR - Ep 66 - What Is Meant by BTEX?

In this 66th episode, I discuss "What Is Meant by BTEX?"

BTEX stands for Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, and Xylenes, which are a group of volatile organic compounds commonly found in petroleum products like crude oils and refined fuels like gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.

BTEX aromatics are toxic chemicals that are known to be carcinogenic and thus are a cause of concern to human health and our environment.

BTEX are in a category called VOCs which means Volatile Organic Compounds.  These are volatile because they are light and thus they evaporate into our air and they also dissolve easily in water and for these reasons they spread easily into and through soil as well.

For these reasons BTEX are contaminates of concern and must be monitored during spill/remediation activities.

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Transcript

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SPEAKER_02 0:10

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SPEAKER_00 0:29

Hey there, let's talk remediation. This is your host, Charles Fader, and this is our 66th episode of Let's Talk Remediation. Our 66th episode is brought to us by our ongoing sponsor, Hambi Environmental. Hambi Environmental is a manufacturer of field test kits, providing accurate, economical, and fast or efficient results for the detection and quantification of petroleum hydrocarbons, PFAS and PFOS, as well as chlorides. So thank you, Hambi Environmental, for your ongoing support of this podcast. Let's talk remediation, where we're trying to have a positive impact on the environmental remediation industry. And with that, let's get started with our 66th episode. And it's going to build on our past two episodes, 64th episode, which was what are uh PCBs or polychlorinated biphenols, and our 65th episode, which was what are PAHs or poly uh cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Our sixty-sixth episode is gonna be what are BTEx or what is BTEX? Well, BTEX or is an acronym just like uh PCBs and PAHs, BTEX stands for benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, and xylin. Uh that's the first letter of each of those aromatic components. Benzene for B, toluene for T, ethylbenzene for E, and xylene for X stands that's how we get the acronym BTEX. And so BTEX are, like I said, they're those are individual aromatics of concern. They're chemicals that are uh considered VOCs or volatile organic compounds. Uh they are light aromatics that are found in petroleum products like crude oil and gasoline and diesel fuel and jet fuel. They are individual aromatic components that are in all of those uh petroleum products. And so as they uh individual aromatic components, benzene, toluene, uh, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene, uh, they are aromatic components that are toxic and have been found to be carcinogens uh known to cause cancer in humans, and uh they're not good for our environment or our you know our aquatic life, and certainly not uh as cancer-causing or being carcinogens, certainly not uh good for humans. However, these aromatic components are found, like I said, in all petroleum products, and for that reason uh you know we need to be concerned with them. So BTEX, uh benzene is the B. Uh it's been found uh to uh be in vehicle uh emissions and uh crude oils. Uh uh toluene is like a solvent that's used in paints and thinners and glues and nail polish. Uh ethyl benzene is a flammable uh flammable liquid that uh is used to create other chemicals, um, and xylene is a solvent that's used in like printing and rubber and other leather industries. And the although these types of aromatics have their own types of individual uses, um, again, they're all found in petroleum products in different concentrations, and they are all toxic, and uh carcinogens have been again uh uh found to be uh cancer-causing. And so for their toxic nature means they have to be a ki uh chemical or a contaminant of concern, and they uh they are again light in nature, and because they're lighter in nature, that's why they get quantified in the category of uh VOCs or volatile organic compounds, they tend to um evaporate quickly out of and leave behind, like say if they were in crudols, they'll tend to uh evaporate quickly off of that and leave behind the heavier parts to the oil components. So because they are lighter in nature, they travel easily into the air, which cause an uh inhalation uh exposure of the vapors, uh, or uh they travel and they move easily in water. Uh and of course, anytime it's gonna get in the water, it's gonna travel through soil as well. Uh and because that makes them very mobile, they move very easily. So that creates uh ingestion uh contamination problems of either groundwater from drinking water or uh just because they get into the soil and they could also um be absorbed through the skin because of their light nature. So uh they they can cause dizziness and respiratory issues uh over long-term exposure, and uh because again, they evaporate quickly into the air, they will also dissolve easily in water, and for that reason, uh they they you know will get into the soil and in our aquifers, and that's why you know we need to be concerned with them. So again, uh sorry for that. Uh let's see here. Um BTECs again are compounds that are among the most commonly found contaminants in groundwater and soil, and that's because they are found in all petroleum products. Uh and they have a high solubility in water, um, and for that reason they can travel uh quickly and easily. Now the um one of the concerns is that they will travel and move throughout the environment easily because of how they're uh they dissolve or their solubility in water. And for that reason, we need to be uh concerned with cleaning them up again, mainly because of their toxic nature is our our biggest concern, again, them being carcinogens. Uh, and so it is something that is a focus of the the individual aromatic components, and so again, uh BTEx, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene are aromatic components that are found in all petroleum products, uh, whether it's crude oil, gasoline, jet fuel, or diesel fuel. And so they are the lighter uh components that are found in those uh oils and refined fuels, and for that reason, they tend to evaporate into the air quicker or they get into the water easily, and then of course, in that case, they're gonna move throughout the soil and stuff like that, and so they get into the air that we breathe and they will travel through the water that we drink, and they will, as we touch them, they will absorb into our skin, and because of their toxic nature, we have to be concerned with them individually or as a group because we group them uh because they're all very similar in nature, um, being light or volatile. Uh however, again, they're found in all petroleum products, and for that reason, we need to be concerned with them and know what they are. Again, BTEX is an acronym that stands for benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, and xylene. And um they are they fall into the group of volatile organic compounds because they're light nature, meaning light and volatile, they move quickly and easily. And they could uh they're in the all the petroleum products, and for that reason, they there's leaks and spills of them, uh, just like the uh prior discussed acronyms of uh PCBs and PAHs. They are contaminants of concern because of their health risk of being known carcinogens, and um, they're literally in all over the place because they are in all the different petroleum products that we uh that we use every day. And so that's just what I wanted to cover today is what are BTEX and what is BTEX. Again, it's an acronym that stands for those individual aromatic components of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene, and they are aromatic components that are found in all crude oils, all oils, all petroleum products, refined fuels, and um because of their simple nature, they are light and that way they uh will move easily through our environment, whether it's through the air, water, or soil, and they are known carcinogens, so they pose uh a health risk to humans and our environment as well as our aquatic life. And that's just what I wanted to cover today. So thank you for tuning in to this podcast, uh, our 66th episode of Let's Talk Remediation, again brought to us by our ongoing sponsor, Hambi Environmental. So thank you, Hambi Environmental. Thank you for tuning in to our weekly podcast of Let's Talk Remediation, where we're trying to have a positive impact on the environmental remediation industry. And as I always say, if you have a topic you'd like for us to address or a specific question of concern, uh drop me an email, uh C Fader. That's C FSN Frank A T O R at letstalkremediation.com, and we will get that covered for you on a future episode. And with that, I thank you again, and I am your host, Charles Fader, and I'm out.

SPEAKER_01 11:28

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