Assessing exposures and risks in heterogeneously contaminated areas: A simulation approach

Conference · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1991

OSTI ID:6276451

Fingleton, D J; MacDonell, M M; Haroun, L A ^[1]; Oezkaynak, H; Butler, D A; Xue, Jianping ^[2]

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1. Argonne National Lab., IL (United States)
2. Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (United States)

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is responsible for cleanup activities at a number of facilities under its Environmental Restoration and Waste Management Program. The major goals of this program are to eliminate potential hazards to human health and the environment that are associated with contamination of these sites and, to the extent possible, make surplus real property available for other uses. The assessment of potential baseline health risks and ecological impacts associated with a contaminated site is an important component of the remedial investigation/feasibility study (RI/FS) process required at all Superfund sites. The purpose of this paper is to describe one phase of the baseline assessment, i.e., the characterization of human health risks associated with exposure to chemical contaminants in air and on interior building surfaces at a contaminated site. The model combines data on human activity patterns in a particular microenvironment within a building with contaminant concentrations in that microenvironment to calculate personal exposure profiles and risks within the building. The results of the building assessment are presented as probability distributions functions and cumulative distribution functions, which show the variability and uncertainty in the risk estimates. 23 refs., 2 figs., 1 tab.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab., IL (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: W-31109-ENG-38
• OSTI ID: 6276451
• Report Number(s): ANL/CP-72972; CONF-910981--45; ON: DE92003373
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

054000* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Health & Safety
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
560300 -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
AIR POLLUTION
AROMATICS
BIPHENYL
BUILDINGS
ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE
HUMAN POPULATIONS
HYDROCARBONS
INHALATION
INTAKE
MONTE CARLO METHOD
OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
POLLUTANTS
POLLUTION
POPULATIONS
RISK ASSESSMENT
TOXICITY