Integrating Superfund risk assessments and population studies for concurrent ecological and human health evaluations
- Environmental Protection Agency, Denver, CO (United States)
Under CERCLA mandate, EPA must ensure adequate protection of health and environment through the Superfund program. Baseline risk assessments are required to ascertain the existing and future levels of risks to ecological and human receptors should no remedial action be taken at a NPL site. Guidance from EPA has been continually evolving and forthcoming to better address the risk assessment process that will satisfy the Agency`s responsibilities in a cost and time effective manner. Human health risk assessment guidance and methodology has generally proceeded that of ecological risk assessment, and many past assessments of human and ecological risk were conducted separately and with different levels of effort and thoroughness. Today there is more support and improved guidance to give proper emphasis to both areas of risk assessment, as well as more opportunities to coordinate the site evaluations where it is feasible to do so. Coordinating ecological and human health evaluations can save resources and duplicative efforts under certain circumstances. Epidemiologic and zooepidemiologic studies of individuals sampled from populations at risk should also be used only to the extent appropriate in the context of risk characterization. A better holistic view of relative human and ecological risks at a NPL site is possible through such integration of the assessments, which can augment and balance the remedial decision that risk managers must make to reduce site risks to acceptable levels.
- OSTI ID:
- 42888
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9410273--
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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