Human health risk assessment for contaminated properties

Abstract

Contaminated sites, particularly Superfund sites, not only require remediation but also require health risk analysis of the unremediated site. In this chapter, the term risk refers to the probability and the magnitude of adverse human health effects due to the unintended exposure to chemicals at sites that are contaminated or perceived to be contaminated. The quantitative estimation of this risk, the application to define how clean is clean, and the techniques available to mitigate and manage the risk are discussed: Estimation of exposure or dose and the uncertainties inherent in the calculations Quantitative chemical-specific measures of human toxicity of chemicals used in the RA process The metrics used to estimate the carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic risk Risk management and the concepts of acceptable risk Risk assessment and risk management of contaminated sites