ON THE RESEARCH INTO PATTERNS OF OIL CONTAMINATION OF THE GEOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT DEPENDING ON THE MOISTURE CONTENT OF SOILS OF URBAN TERRITORIES DESIGNATED FOR CONSTRUCTION PURPOSES

The author describes the findings of an experimental study of the influence of sandy soil moisture content produced on the content of different oil derivatives in soils. The author has identified a relation between alterations in the concentration of gasoline, diesel fuel and their mixtures and the soil moisture content. The higher the soil moisture content, the bigger the number of water-filled pores. The density of diesel fuel and gasoline is lower than the one of the water; therefore, the concentration of oil derivatives in sandy soils goes down as the moisture content in sandy soils goes up. The conclusion is that moist soils demonstrate lower susceptibility to contamination by oil derivatives. Therefore, projections of oil contaminations of urban soils should be based on their moisture content.