Ecological risk assessment of a site contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons
- CanTox Inc., Mississauga, Ontario (Canada)
- CanTox Inc., Halifax, Nova Scotia (Canada)
The aquatic and terrestrial health risks associated with petroleum contamination on a decommissioned military base, contaminated with products ranging from Bunker C oil to aviation fuel, were assessed using a methodology whereby an analytical measurement of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) could be correlated with compositional characterization and thus with toxicity. The constituents of petroleum hydrocarbon contamination represent wide ranges of physical-chemical properties, environmental fate, and toxicity. The composition of TPH can vary greatly, dependent on the sources or fuel types and the interaction of age as well as site- and chemical-specific characteristics in determining the impact of weathering processes. Therefore, a bulk sum analysis of TPH cannot be related to toxicity without characterization of its composition and association of the constituents, and therefore composition, with actual toxicity data. To address this need, the constituents of TPH were represented by surrogate chemicals, with selection based on structure-activity relationships and available toxicity data. Toxicological profiles were developed from governmental regulations and on the published literature for both the aquatic and terrestrial media. Risk characterization consisted of a comparison of water concentration limits and exposure limits, developed for each surrogate, to estimated surrogate concentrations throughout the site. The concentrations of surrogates were extrapolated from TPH composition characterization analyses, conducted at a select number of sampling locations, to bulk sum analyses of TPH at related sampling locations.
- OSTI ID:
- 452086
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-961149--
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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