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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Multimedia transport of organic contaminants and exposure modeling

Conference ·
OSTI ID:5944577

Human exposures to organic contaminants in the environment are a complex function of human factors, physicochemical properties of the contaminants, and characteristics of the environmental media in which the contaminants reside. One subject of interest in the screening of organic chemicals for the purpose of identifying exposure pathways of potential concern is the relationship between exposures and contaminant properties. To study such relationships, a multimedia environmental model termed GEOTOX is used to predict the equilibrium partitioning and transport of ''reference'' organic chemicals between compartments representing different media (i.e., soil layers, ground water, air, biota, etc.) of a contaminated landscape. Reference chemicals, which are added to the surface soil of a landscape, are defined by properties consisting of the Henry's law constant, soil water-soil organic carbon partition coefficient, and bioconcentration factors. The steady-state concentrations of the chemical in the GEOTOX compartments are then used to estimate lifetime exposures (in mg/kg-d) to the compartments for individuals living in the contaminated landscape. Exposure pathways addressed include ingestion, inhalation, and dermal absorption. Local sensitivity analyses are performed to determine which chemical and landscape properties have the greatest effect on the exposure estimates. 9 refs., 4 figs., 3 tabs.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
W-7405-ENG-48
OSTI ID:
5944577
Report Number(s):
UCRL-99592; CONF-8811128-2; ON: DE89015451
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English