Risk assessment near uncontrolled hazardous waste sites: Role of monitoring data

The traditional approach of coupling estimates of human exposures to individual chemicals with laboratory studies of the toxicity of the chemicals as the basis for quantitative assessments of risk is not adequate when considering problems near hazardous waste sites. For example, there are (a) too many chemicals and mixtures involved, (b) containment uncertainties, and (c) future exposure problems associated with groundwater and soil contamination. Among the items to be considered in expanding the dimensions of risk assessment methodologies of the past are (a) identification of chemical groups or of dominant toxic chemicals of principal concern and the likely man-made as well as natural pathways for environmental migration, (b) the role of biological monitoring in addition to traditional monitoring approaches, and (c) the coupling of monitoring data with past, current, and future population activity patterns and with epidemiological and other health data.Monitoring data is a key in risk assessments since there is little likelihood that materials balances or modelling will provide authoritative information concerning exposure levels. The use of monitoring data from control areas and from nationwide baseline surveys in developing comparative risk assessments is particularly important. Finally, recent experience provides us with a number of practical guidelines for designing and carrying out monitoring programs that will provide authoritative and useful data. *** DIRECT SUPPORT *** AZ802019 00002     

基于健康风险的危险废物智能化分级分类研究

在分析国内外危险废物分级管理经验的基础上,结合健康风险的评估步骤,提出了基于全过程危险废物污染物释放情景的精细化-动态健康风险评价方法。充分考虑处理利用工艺、企业管理水平等因素对于危险废物中污染物释放概率和能力的影响,并基于污染物向环境介质的迁移转化,定量评估危险废物的健康风险。基于危险废物污染特性数据库和事故情景数据库,结合全过程信息采集技术,构建危险废物分级分类管理平台,进行涉废企业的风险级别划分,实施差异化管理,形成更加科学有效的危险废物全过程精细化管理体系。     

Screening and prioritisation of chemical risks from metal mining operations, identifying exposure media of concern

Metals have been central to the development of human civilisation from the Bronze Age to modern times, although in the past, metal mining and smelting have been the cause of serious environmental pollution with the potential to harm human health. Despite problems from artisanal mining in some developing countries, modern mining to Western standards now uses the best available mining technology combined with environmental monitoring, mitigation and remediation measures to limit emissions to the environment. This paper develops risk screening and prioritisation methods previously used for contaminated land on military and civilian sites and engineering systems for the analysis and prioritisation of chemical risks from modern metal mining operations. It uses hierarchical holographic modelling and multi-criteria decision making to analyse and prioritise the risks from potentially hazardous inorganic chemical substances released by mining operations. A case study of an active platinum group metals mine in South Africa is used to demonstrate the potential of the method. This risk-based methodology for identifying, filtering and ranking mining-related environmental and human health risks can be used to identify exposure media of greatest concern to inform risk management. It also provides a practical decision-making tool for mine acquisition and helps to communicate risk to all members of mining operation teams.     

Potential health risks due to toxic contamination in the ambient environment of certain Indian states

Toxic or hazardous substances pose two types of risks in the environment, namely `short-term or acute risk' and `long-termor chronic risk'. The short-term risk is associated with the one-time acute exposure to potentially hazardous substancesaccidentally released in the environment, whereas the long-termrisk is resulted from continuous exposure to potentially harmfulsubstances present in different environmental media. This articledeals with the assessment of potential health risks related to certain carcinogens and non-carcinogens (e.g. cadmium, chromiumand nickel) present in three environmental media, viz. air, waterand food in different Indian states (regions). Appropriate dose-response models have been identified and used for this purpose with the assumptions and input data as per the Indian context. Mean values of ambient air concentration levels of Cd,Cr and Ni have been used to estimate the individual and societalrisks of extra cancer in different states of India. The hazardquotients and hazard index representing the non-carcinogenic chronic health effects caused by chromium and cadmium due to their long-term exposure through water and food have also beenestimated. The risk results have been compared with the diseasesurveillance data. A definite correlation between the estimatedrisk results and the reported number of lung cancer cases and chronic liver diseases have been observed in different regions. As a matter of fact, it is not possible to derive precise risk estimates due to various uncertainties included both in availabledata and in the models which are used to calculate potency factors and effective concentration. However, average risk levelsas estimated and presented in this article are quite useful forplanning purposes.     

Not so Black and White: environmental justice and cumulative impact assessments

A growing number of scientific studies in recent years have investigated disparate exposure to ecological hazards in American society. Working from an environmental justice perspective, this body of research consistently reveals that poor communities of color are most likely to bear a disproportionate burden of negative externalities. These studies utilize a wide range of research methodologies, including various indicators of ecological hazards (e.g., proximity to waste sites, industrial emissions, ambient air quality), but few, if any, utilize composite measures to approximate cumulative environmental impact. Consequently, the environmental justice (EJ) literature is characterized by a failure to effectively measure overall impact from an extensive range of ecological hazards. Limitations on available data make this a serious problem for present and future studies. We argue that cumulative measures of environmental impact can play an important role in furthering our understanding of environmental injustices in the United States. In this study of Massachusetts, we develop and implement such a cumulative measure of negative environmental impacts. By controlling for the density and severity of ecological hazardous sites and facilities within every community in the state, we demonstrate that exposure patterns take a generally linear distribution when analyzed by race and class. So, while our results reaffirm previous findings that low-income communities and communities of color bear significantly greater ecological burdens than predominantly White and more affluent communities, our findings also suggest that environmental injustices exist on a remarkably consistent continuum for nearly all communities. In other words, as the minority population and lower-income composition of a community increases, correspondingly, so does cumulative exposure to environmental hazards. In this respect, communities which are more racially mixed and of moderate income status that are not typically identified as meeting EJ criteria (in demographic terms) also face more significant ecological hazards. Thus, the strict bifurcation of communities into categories of Environmental Justice and Non-Environmental Justice is problematic, and poses a serious dilemma for policy makers, public health officials, and community activists. To overcome this challenge requires the adoption of a cumulative environmental justice impact assessment (CEJIA), which in addition to the demographic characteristics of a community, also takes into account the total environmental burden and related health impacts upon residents. Furthermore, through the adoption of the precautionary principle, source reduction, and alternative forms of “cleaner” production, environmental justice advocates must work for policies which reduce the environmental threat for the full range of communities, as well as their own.     

长江经济带工业来源危险废物污染与处理特征分析及监管对策建议

依据2017年环境统计数据, 分析了长江经济带工业危险废物的污染及处理特征:长江经济带危废产生 量较大的省份是江苏、浙江、云南、湖南和四川；危废种类主要是来源于化工、钢铁、有色和造纸行业的废酸、有色金属冶炼废物、废碱和焚烧处置残渣；各地对危废的处理情况各有优劣。根据以上特征,提出加强对重点 区域的监管和调度,针对特定行业和危废种类,建议出台最佳可行的处理技术,建立区域之间危废管理大平台,促进区域危废处理优势互补和均衡发展,挖掘企业自行处理能力,减轻危废集中处理压力。     

Inter-relation between environmental monitoring data,human exposure and health effects

To determine whether a population has been affected by a chemical, evidence of exposure must be established. The mere presence of a chemical in the surroundings of a population may not, in all instances, result in actual exposure. Not all such exposures will cause health effects; nor is it always possible to establish that illness has or will result from exposure to chemicals. The inability to establish health effects in humans cannot a priori be translated to mean that a specific chemical is harmless. On the other hand, it must be determined whether health studies would be fruitful. If exposure was so minimal that no health effects are expected, then no health studies should be conducted.     

Indicators of ecosystem health at the species level and the example of selenium effects on fish

Chemical monitoring of aquatic ecosystems describes the chemical exposures of aquatic biota and measures the success of pollution control. However, meeting water quality criteria cannot assure that aquatic biota are protected from the effects of unexpected chemicals, mixtures and interactions between toxicity and environmental stressors.Biological monitoring is an obvious solution since aquatic biota integrate spatial and temporal variations in exposure to many simultaneous stressors. Top predators, typical of specific ecosystems (e.g. lake trout in cold water oligotrophic lakes) indicate whether environmental criteria have been met. The presence of naturally reproducing, self-sustaining and productive stocks of edible fish demonstrates a high quality environment. If these conditions are not met, there is a clear sign of environmental degradation. Specific changes in population structure and performance may also diagnose which life stage is affected and the nature of the stressor.Unfortunately, environmental managers cannot rely solely on populations, communities or ecosystems to indicate chmical effects. The lag between identifying a problem and finding a cause may destroy the resource that we wish to protect, particularly where chemicals are persistent.A solution to this dilemma is the measurement of primary or secondary responses of individual organisms to chemical exposure. Since toxicity at any level of organization must start with a reaction between a chemical and a biological substrate, these responses are the most sensitive and earliest sign of chemical exposure and effect.Application of this idea requires research on molecular mechanisms of chemical toxicity in aquatic biota and adaptation of existing mammalian diagnostic tools. Since relevance of biochemical responses to populations and ecosystems is not obvious, there is a need to study the links between chemical exposure and responses of individuals, populations and ecosystems.The recognition of chemical problems and cause-effect relationships requires the integration of chemical and biological monitoring, using the principles of epidemiology to test the strength of relationships and to identify specific research needs. The contamination of a reservoir with selenium and impacts on fish populations provide an excellent example of this approach.     

Geospatial strategy for sustainable management of municipal solid waste for growing urban environment

This paper presents the implementation of a Geospatial approach for improving the Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) disposal suitability site assessment in growing urban environment. The increasing trend of population growth and the absolute amounts of waste disposed of worldwide have increased substantially reflecting changes in consumption patterns, consequently worldwide. MSW is now a bigger problem than ever. Despite an increase in alternative techniques for disposing of waste, land-filling remains the primary means. In this context, the pressures and requirements placed on decision makers dealing with land-filling by government and society have increased, as they now have to make decisions taking into considerations environmental safety and economic practicality. The waste disposed by the municipal corporation in the Bhagalpur City (India) is thought to be different from the landfill waste where clearly scientific criterion for locating suitable disposal sites does not seem to exist. The location of disposal sites of Bhagalpur City represents the unconsciousness about the environmental and public health hazards arising from disposing of waste in improper location. Concerning about urban environment and health aspects of people, a good method of waste management and appropriate technologies needed for urban area of Bhagalpur city to improve this trend using Multi Criteria Geographical Information System and Remote Sensing for selection of suitable disposal sites. The purpose of GIS was to perform process to part restricted to highly suitable land followed by using chosen criteria. GIS modeling with overlay operation has been used to find the suitability site for MSW.     

中国固体废物的环境管理与环境监测技术现状

为加强中国固体废物的环境管理和环境监测技术，回顾了中国自１９８５年以来制定的固体放心物环境管理法规制度以及１９８４年至１９９８年颁布的２０多年家或行业的固体废物处置标准体系等固体废物的环境管理状况，着重论述了中国固体废物环境监测技术的发展历史与现状。指出经过２０多年的努力，在固体废物环境监测技术与方法上初步形成了该领域框架体系，有固体废物的采样与制样技术；危险废物的有害特性试验鉴别方法，固体废物具     

Determination of Background Concentrations of Inorganics in Soils and Sediments at Hazardous Waste Sites

Hazardous waste sites may pose a threat to human health and the environment when toxic substances are released. However, the contaminants present at a waste site may have originated on-site (i.e., resulting from releases attributable to site activities) or off-site (i.e., resulting from sources not on-site). Off-site substances may result either from natural sources (e.g., erosion of naturally occurring mineral deposits) or anthropogenic sources (e.g., widespread contamination from automobile exhaust in urban areas). To determine the appropriate action to take at a hazardous waste site, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must distinguish between substances directly attributable to the hazardous waste site (i.e., site contaminants) and those attributable to natural background concentrations. The most important factor to consider when determining background concentrations is to ensure that the physical, chemical, and biological aspects of the media to be sampled at both the contaminated site and the background site are as similar as possible. Inorganics, in particular metals, are addressed. Radionuclides are not specifically addressed; however, metals with radioactive isotopes that may be encountered at hazardous waste sites are included. There are references and data included in this paper that provide average concentrations and reference values for selected soils and sediments in the United States. Suggested sampling and monitoring design approaches that could be used by scientists and engineers faced with how to determine background concentrations are identified. The issues discussed include the selection of background sampling locations, considerations in the selection of sampling procedures, and statistical analyses for determining whether contaminant levels are significantly different on a potential waste site compared with a background site.     

Health impact assessment of air pollution using a dynamic exposure profile: Implications for exposure and health impact estimates

In both ambient air pollution epidemiology and health impact assessment an accurate assessment of the population exposure is crucial. Although considerable advances have been made in assessing human exposure outdoors, the assessments often do not consider the impact of individual travel behavior on such exposures.Population-based exposures to NO₂ and O₃ using only home addresses were compared with models that integrate all time-activity patterns—including time in commute—for Flanders and Brussels. The exposure estimates were used to estimate the air pollution impact on years of life lost due to respiratory mortality.Health impact of NO₂ using an exposure that integrates time-activity information was on average 1.2% higher than when assuming that people are always at their home address. For ozone the overall estimated health impact was 0.8% lower. Local differences could be much larger, with estimates that differ up to 12% from the exposure using residential addresses only. Depending on age and gender, deviations from the population average were seen.Our results showed modest differences on a regional level. At the local level, however, time-activity patterns indicated larger differences in exposure and health impact estimates, mainly for people living in more rural areas. These results suggest that for local analyses the dynamic approach can contribute to an improved assessment of the health impact of various types of pollution and to the understanding of exposure differences between population groups.     

Quantitative analysis of toxic and essential elements in human hair. Clinical validity of results

Over the last three decades, there has been an increasing awareness of environmental and occupational exposures to toxic or potentially toxic trace elements. The evolution of biological monitoring includes knowledge of kinetics of toxic and/or essential elements and adverse health effects related to their exposure. The debate whether a hair is a valid sample for biomonitoring or not is still attracting the attention of analysts, health care professionals, and environmentalists. Although researchers have found many correlations of essential elements to diseases, metabolic disorders, environmental exposures, and nutritional status, opponents of the concept of hair analysis object that hair samples are unreliable due to the influence of external factors. This review discusses validity of hair as a sample for biomonitoring of essentiall and toxic elements, with emphasis on pre-analytical, analytical, and post-analytical factors influencing results.     

The impact of municipal budgets and land-use management on the hazardous waste production of Malaga municipalities

Economic development and the search for competitiveness have become key issues in regions' economic success. However, despite the direct relationship between economic and environmental management, few land-use plans consider the latter aspect, and city managers delegate the responsibility for environmental impacts to state legislation and private initiatives. This myopic search for competitiveness has meant that a holistic view of environmental issues is often not integrated into municipal decision-making processes. Therefore, this study's objective was to determine the relevant direct and indirect relationships of land management and budgetary procedures of municipalities with overall production levels of hazardous waste. To this end, a primary tourist region, Málaga, was examined in terms of how this waste's environmental impacts can affect the region's vital tourism sector. This research used principal component analysis, regression by ordinary least squares, cluster analysis in two stages and a means test to compare the data for the Province of Malaga's subregions.The results confirm a positive relationship between municipal expenditure and waste production and highlight the environmental benefits of land use involving environmentally non-aggressive crops. The results also reveal a negative relationship between waste production and financial assets and a direct relationship between unproductive land and the production of hazardous waste. The findings also highlight the necessity of raising awareness about the need for collaboration between different agents, especially in the development of inter-municipal strategies.     

Toxicological effects of major environmental pollutants: an overview

The last quarter of the twentieth century had witnessed a global surge in awakening against the unabated menace of environmental pollution. Among the various types of environmental pollution, water pollution is an age-old problem but it has gained an alarming dimension lately because of the problems of population increase, sewage disposal, industrial waste, radioactive waste, etc. Present scenario of water pollution calls for immediate attention towards the remediation and detoxification of these hazardous agents in order to have a healthy living environment. The present communication will deal with the toxicological effects of major environmental pollutants, viz. heavy metals, pesticides, and phenols.     

Impacts of lead/zinc mining and smelting on the environment and human health in China

Mining and smelting are important economic activities. However, mining-related industries are also some of the largest sources of environmental pollution from heavy metals. China is one of the largest producers and consumers of lead and zinc in the world. A large amount of lead, zinc, and related elements, such as cadmium, have been released into the environment due to mineral processing activities and have impacted water resources, soils, vegetables, and crops. In some areas, this pollution is hazardous to human health. This article reviews studies published in the past 10 years (2000–2009), on the environmental and human health consequences of lead/zinc mineral exploitation in China. Polluted areas are concentrated in the following areas: the junction of Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan provinces, west-central Hunan province, central Guangxi province, northern Guangdong, northwestern Henan province, the border between Shanxi and Gansu provinces, and the region of Liaoning province near Bohai. Lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) are the main pollutants and are associated with human health effects such as high lead blood levels in children, arthralgia, osteomalacia, and excessive cadmium in urine.     

Assessing workplace chemical exposures: the role of exposure monitoring

Occupational exposure is the condition of being subjected through employment to a chemical, physical, or biological agent, or to a specific process, practice, behavior, or organization of work. Exposure to a chemical agent is typically the contact of that agent with the outer boundary of a subject, such as the respiratory system, skin, or digestive system. In occupational hygiene we are most concerned with exposure through the respiratory system, although, increasingly we are concerned with the results of dermal exposures, including those exposures to the skin that can be transferred to the mouth and digestive system. This presentation will detail methods available for assessing personal exposures to chemicals through monitoring. The results from monitoring can then be compared to established guidelines and regulations, although this is not the only rationale for making measurements. These monitoring methods are currently used around the world to establish the benchmark hazard from which risk to the worker can be predicted. The presentation will describe the general techniques for assessing exposures to the respiratory system from chemical gases and vapors, chemical dusts, and exposures to the skin from bulk chemicals or chemical contamination of surfaces. For respiratory exposures, direct-reading instruments are available for spot measurements, and for monitoring short-term fluctuations in concentration. However, most standards and regulations are based on time-integrated (time-weighted average) exposures, requiring longer-term integrative methods. Therefore, the specific focus of this review will be the methods available for full work-shift sampling. For gases and vapors this will include taking whole-air samples in canisters or polymer bags, or concentration of chemicals by absorption in liquids or adsorption on solid sorbents, with subsequent chemical analysis. Chemical concentration can take place by pumping air through the sorbing media, or by allowing molecules to diffuse to the sorbent surface. Transfer of the collected chemicals to the analytical instrumentation can be accomplished using solvent displacement and injection, or through the application of heat to bring the collected molecules back into the vapor phase. For particles, the particle size is important as this determines the site of deposition in the lungs, and so time-integrated sampling on filters using various types of size-selective samplers is preferred. Finally, some techniques that have been used to assess the potential for chemical contamination of the skin are presented. Biomonitoring is another tool that can be used to assess exposure, and the results are more relevant to dosimetric considerations than exposure. Biomonitoring is a complex subject worthy of a separate review, and will be considered only briefly here.     

Multi-level screening of a proposed hazardous waste treatment and disposal facility site--a case study

A comprehensive environmental assessment (EA) is a pre-requisite before the site for developing a hazardous waste treatment and disposal facility (HWTDF) is selected. However, the resource limitations, especially for developing countries, often dictatethat the detailed EA be restricted to those sites, which are constraint free and have low hazard potentials. Thus, a preliminary screening exercise for assessing the suitability ofsite for developing the HWTDF needs to be carried out to avoid huge costs involved in detailed EA. While screening a HWTDF site,various factors such as present land use, ecologically sensitiveareas, geology and hydrogeology of the area, the quality and quantity of wastes, engineered safeguards, and the operationalprocedures that need to be adopted, are required to be addressed. In this paper, a multi-level screening criteria employing RemoteSensing, Constraint Mapping, Groundwater Pollution Potential Index (DRASTIC Index), and the Site Ranking was used to assess the suitability of a proposed site for the development of HWTDF.The study helped to identify various constraints at the proposedsite and their significance on the development of the HWTDF.     

RCRA ground-water monitoring decision procedures viewed as quality control schemes

The problems of developing and comparing statistical procedures appropriate to the monitoring of ground water at hazardous waste sites are discussed. It is suggested that these decision procedures should be viewed as quality control schemes and compared in the same way that industrial quality control schemes are compared. The results of a Monte Carlo simulation study of run-length distribution of a combined Shewhart-CUSUM quality control scheme are reported.