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A natural gradient tracer test was performed in the shallow, aerobic sand aquifer at Canadian Forces Bases (CFB) Borden in 1988. A mixture of groundwater, spiked with dissolved oxygenate-containing gasoline, was injected below the water table along with chloride (Cl⁻) as a conservative tracer. The mass of BTEX compounds in the plume diminished significantly over 16 months of monitoring due to intrinsic aerobic biodegradation; MTBE showed only a small decrease in mass over the same period. In 1995/1996, a comprehensive groundwater sampling program was undertaken to define the mass of MTBE still present in the aquifer. Only 3% of the original MTBE mass remained. Sorption, volatilization and abiotic degradation were ruled out as significant attenuation processes for the field conditions. As well, a study on the phytoremediation potential of the site showed that the plants in the study area were unlikely …