Mass flux is emerging as an alternative approach for assessing sites with source zone contaminants and for evaluating the performance of remedial treatments.
Mass flux is a calculation of the mass of dissolved contaminants that passes through a cross-sectional area over time. Mass flux is expressed in the units of mass per time per area (e.g. lbs/hr-ft2). It provides an estimate of dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) source strength and the rate of mass loading to the dissolved phase. Mass flux offers a potential improvement over estimates of the percentage of mass removal because of the high uncertainty in direct measurements of DNAPL mass in the subsurface.
This Web Portal provides a brief overview of the methods and tools used to measure mass flux and provides links to useful resources in mass flux research. The use of mass flux is not currently a widespread practice. However, researchers have proposed the use of mass flux estimates as one more tool to characterize site conditions and to assess remedial action performance before and after remediation of a DNAPL source zone.
