Overview of the remedial action priority system (RAPS)

Conference · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1986

OSTI ID:6160499

Whelan, G; Steelman, B L; Strenge, D L; Droppo, J G

To provide DOE with a better management tool for prioritizing funding allocations for further site investigations and possible remediations, Pacific Northwest Laboratory developed a more objective, physics-based risk assessment methodology called the Remedial Action Priority System (RAPS). This methodology uses empirically, analytically, and semianalytically based mathematical algorithms and a pathways analysis to predict the potential for contaminant transport from a hazardous waste disposal site to local populations. Four major pathways for contaminant migration are considered in the RAPS methodology: groundwater, overland, surface water, and atmospheric. Using the predications of contaminant transport, simplified exposure assessments are performed for important receptors. The risks associated with the sites can then be calculated relative to other sites for each pathway and for all pathways together. The RAPS methodology addresses many of the typical limitations associated with other ranking systems; it considers: (1) more site information and constituent characteristics associated with the transport pathways; (2) chemical and radioactive wastes; (3) the potential direction of contaminant movement; (4) contaminant retention (e.g., dispersion and decay/degradation), where applicable; (5) population distributions; (6) various routes of exposure (e.g., inhalations, ingestion, and external exposure); (7) contaminant toxicities; (8) duration of exposure of the surrounding population; and (9) contaminant arrival time to sensitive receptors. Because RAPS is based on more site information and constituent characteristics, the scoring system of the RAPS methodology also reduces the subjectivity associated with prioritizing hazardous waste sites. The RAPS methodology requires minimum user knowledge of risk assessment and a minimum amount of input data.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC06-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 6160499
• Report Number(s): PNL-SA-13324; CONF-860156-1; ON: DE86007730
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

053000 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Environmental Aspects
054000* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Health & Safety
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
CHEMICAL WASTES
DISPERSIONS
ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE PATHWAY
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
GROUND WATER
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
HUMAN POPULATIONS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
MANAGEMENT
MASS TRANSFER
MATERIALS
MIXTURES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POPULATIONS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
REMEDIAL ACTION
RISK ASSESSMENT
TOXICITY
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES
WATER