Ranking hazardous-waste sites for remedial action / Committee on Remedial Action Priorities for Hazardous Waste Sites, Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology, Commission on Geosciences, Environment, and Resources, National Research Council.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Remedial Action Priorities for Hazardous Waste Sites.

Contributor:

McCarty, Perry L.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Hazardous waste sites--United States--Classification.

Hazardous waste sites.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (312 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Washington, DC : National Academy Press, c1994.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The United States may not be able to make all hazardous-waste sites as clean as possible. Therefore, priorities must be set for the timing of waste site remediations. This book assesses several of the government's methods of ranking sites for remediation and compares the performance of three such models using input data developed from the same set of waste sites. Because inconsistent methods may be neither effective nor prudent, the book recommends that the government consider developing a unified national approach to setting priorities to replace the current multiple approaches.

Contents:

RANKING HAZARDOUS-WASTE SITES FOR REMEDIAL ACTION

Copyright

OTHER RECENT REPORTS OF THE BOARD ON ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES AND TOXICOLOGY

PREFACE

Contents

RANKING HAZARDOUS-WASTE SITES FOR REMEDIAL ACTION

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

OVERVIEW

CHARGE TO THE COMMITTEE

DESIRABLE FEATURES OF A PRIORITY-SETTING SYSTEM

PRIORITY SETTING AT EPA

PRIORITY SETTING AT DOD

PRIORITY SETTING AT DOE

PRIORITY SETTING BY STATE GOVERNMENTS

COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF FEDERAL PRIORITY-SETTING MODELS

OVERALL CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Current Ranking Models

Current Priority-Setting Processes

Toward a Unified National Approach

1 HAZARDOUS-WASTE SITE PROBLEMS IN THE UNITED STATES

INTRODUCTION AND CHARGE TO THE COMMITTEE

U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY SUPERFUND PROGRAM

Initial Mandate and Funding

Original Hazard-Ranking System

Program Size and Cost: EPA

The Setting of Cleanup Goals

Technical Limitations

U.S. DEPARTMENTS OF DEFENSE AND ENERGY PROGRAMS

Cleanup Responsibilities

Program Size and Cost: DOD and DOE

OTHER FEDERAL AND STATE PROGRAMS

Leaking Underground Storage Tanks

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

Federal Facilities

State Programs

State Priority Systems

SETTING PRIORITIES

DISCUSSION

SCOPE OF THE REPORT

2 PRIORITY-SETTING PROCESSES

BASIS FOR DEVELOPING A PRIORITY-SETTING APPROACH

Overview

General Issues in Model Development and Application

Specific Technical Features of a Hazardous-Waste Site-Ranking and Priority-Setting Model

3 CLASSIFICATION OF PRIORITY-SETTING APPROACHES

INTRODUCTION

ENVIRONMENTAL EVALUATION

RISK ANALYSIS

Hazard Identification

Source Characterization

Exposure Assessment

Risk Characterization

Limitations

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ANALYSIS.

STRUCTURED VALUE-SCORING METHODS

MULTIATTRIBUTE APPROACHES

COST-BENEFIT AND COST-EFFECTIVENESS APPROACHES

4 EPA's PRIORITY SETTING

BACKGROUND AND HISTORY

ROLE OF THE HRS IN THE SUPERFUND PROGRAM

MODEL STRUCTURE AND COMPONENTS

Scientific Evaluation of Model Components

Likelihood of Release Component

Waste-Characteristics Component

Critique of the HRS Toxicology and Exposure Components

Groundwater Pathway

Surface Water Pathway

Soil Pathway

Air Pathway

Summary Evaluation of Pathway Calculations

Ecological Factors in the HRS

Socioeconomic Factors in the HRS

Protocol for Model Development and Use

THE EFFECT OF THE 1990 HRS REVISIONS

PRIORITY SETTING AT LATER STAGES OF SUPERFUND

PROPOSALS FOR IMPROVING SUPERFUND SITE SELECTION AND PRIORITY SETTING

SUMMARY EVALUATION OF EPA PRIORITY SETTING FOR HAZARDOUS-WASTE SITES

General Issues in HRS Model Development and Application

Specific HRS Technical Features

Subsequent EPA Priority-Setting Process

5 DOD's PRIORITY SETTING

THE DPM STRUCTURE

Data Requirements

Model Documentation and Software

PATHWAY SCORING

Environmental Transport And Fate

CONTAMINANT-HAZARD SCORING

Reference Dose

Bioaccumulation Factors and Health Effects Benchmarks

Ecotoxicological Concerns

RECEPTOR SCORING

Human Receptor

Ecological Receptors

SOCIOECONOMIC ISSUES

Socioeconomic Impacts of Site Remediation

Socioeconomic Information in the DPM

SCORING METHODOLOGY AND AGGREGATION

Final Aggregation

VALIDATION

SENSITIVITY AND UNCERTAINTY ANALYSES

SUMMARY

General Issues in DPM Model Development and Application

Specific DPM Technical Features

DOD Priority-Setting Process

6 DOE's PRIORITY SETTING.

BACKGROUND AND HISTORY

THE ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION PRIORITY SYSTEM

Role of ERPS

An Overview of ERPS

Scientific Components of ERPS

The Multiattribute Model

Defining the Seven Objectives in ERPS

Health Risks

Environmental Risks

Socioeconomic Impacts

Uncertainty Reduction

Regulatory Responsiveness

Ability to Meet DOE Milestones

Costs

Aggregation of Measures of Value

SUMMARY EVALUATION OF DOE'S PRIORITY SETTING FOR HAZARDOUS WASTE SITES

General Issues in ERPS Model Development and Application

Specific ERPS Technical Features

Doe Priority Setting Process

7 STATE PRIORITY SETTING

STATES WITH RANKING SYSTEMS SIMILAR TO THE EPA HAZARD-RANKING SYSTEM

Scoring Elements

Routes of Exposure

Algorithm Structure

OTHER NUMERIC RANKING SYSTEMS

STATES WITH RANKING BY BROAD CATEGORY

8 COMPARING FEDERAL RANKING MODELS

THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESSES

Mandates for Remedial Action

Listing and Screening of Sites

Designation for Remediation

COMPARATIVE SCORING EXERCISE OF FEDERAL RANKING MODELS

Objective and Background

Description of the Five Hazardous-Waste Sites Included in the Scoring Exercise

Site 1

Site 2

Site 3

Site 4

Site 5

Model Results and Comparison of Scores

Scoring Exercise Conclusions

GENERAL CONCLUSIONS

9 TOWARD A UNIFIED NATIONAL APPROACH

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF A UNIFIED APPROACH

Protection of Health and Environment

Investment of Funds

Organization Acceptability

Consistency

Adaptability

PROPOSED UNIFIED NATIONAL PROCESS FOR SETTING PRIORITIES

10 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

NEED FOR PRIORITY-SETTING PROCESS

CURRENT PRIORITY-SETTING

IMPROVING THE PRIORITY-SETTING PROCESS.

CURRENT RANKING MODELS USED IN PRIORITY-SETTING

IMPROVING THE MODELS

Documentation and Clarity

Public Involvement

Validation

Explicit Consideration of Socioeconomic Effects

REFERENCES.

Notes:

Committee chairman: Perry L. McCarty.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 279-294).

ISBN:

9786610193561

9781280193569

1280193565

9780309587013

0309587018

9780585149967

0585149968

OCLC:

43477174