PUBLIC HEALTH ASSESSMENT

TSCA INCINERATOR
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY OAK RIDGE RESERVATION
OAK RIDGE, ANDERSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE
EPA FACILITY ID: TN1890090003
DECEMBER 27, 2005

Prepared by:

Federal Facilities Assessment Branch
Division of Health Assessment and Consultation
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES

LIST OF FIGURES

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

I. SUMMARY

II. BACKGROUND

II.A. Site and Process Description
II.A.1. General Information on Incineration
II.A.2. Process Description of the TSCA Incinerator
II.B. TSCA Incinerator Operational History
II.C. Remedial and Regulatory History
II.D. Environmental Setting
II.E. Local Emissions Sources and Regional Air Quality
II.E.1. Other Air Emissions Sources
II.E.2. General Air Quality in the Knoxville Metropolitan Area
II.F. Demographics
II.G. Summary of Public Health Activities Pertaining to the TSCA Incinerator
II.H. Quality Assurance and Quality Control

III. EVALUATION OF THE AIR EXPOSURE PATHWAY

III.A. Introduction
III.B. Emissions: What Contaminants Are Released to the Air?
III.B.1. Groups of Contaminants to Evaluate
III.B.2. Stack Emissions
III.B.3. Fugitive Emissions
III.C. Fate and Transport: How Do the Contaminants Move through the Air?
III.D. Ambient Air Monitoring and Ambient Air Sampling: What Are the Levels of Air Contamination?
III.D.1. Measurements During Routine Operations
III.D.2. Measurements During Episodic Releases
III.E. Synthesis of Information

IV. PUBLIC HEALTH IMPLICATIONS

IV.A. Arsenic
IV.B. Cadmium
IV.C. Chromium
IV.D. Summary

V. COMMUNITY HEALTH CONCERNS

V.A. Community Concerns Regarding Health
V.B. Community Concerns Regarding Environmental Contamination
V.C. Community Concerns Regarding Incinerator Operations
V.D. Other Community Concerns

VI. HEALTH OUTCOME DATA

VII. CHILDREN'S HEALTH CONSIDERATIONS

VIII. CONCLUSIONS

IX. RECOMMENDATIONS

X. PUBLIC HEALTH ACTION PLAN

XI. AUTHORS, TECHNICAL ADVISORS

XII. REFERENCES

LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix A. Review of Air Emissions Studies
Appendix B. Review of Fate and Transport Modeling Studies
Appendix C. Review of Ambient Air Monitoring and Ambient Air Sampling Studies
Appendix D. Definitions of Comparison Values
Appendix E. ATSDR Glossary of Terms
Appendix F. Units of Measurement Used in this PHA
Appendix G. Responses to Public Comments

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Selected Milestones in the TSCA Incinerator's Operational History
Table 2. History of TRV Openings (1991–2004)
Table 3. Limits Established in Permits for Selected Operating Parameters
Table 4. Air Toxics Emissions Data from EPA's 2001 Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) for Industrial Facilities within Approximately 10 Miles of ETTP
Table 5. EPA's 1999 National Emissions Inventory (NEI) Data for Roane County
Table 6. Contaminant Groups Evaluated in this PHA
Table 7. Emissions Data Available for the Groups of Contaminants
Table 8. Fate and Transport Modeling Results Available for the Groups of Contaminants
Table 9. Ambient Air Monitoring and Ambient Air Sampling for the Groups of Contaminants
Table A-1. Summary of TSCA Trial Burn Data
Table A-2. Summary of RCRA Trial Burn Data
Table A-3. Summary of TSCA Incinerator Performance Tests
Table A-4. Summary of Continuous Emissions Sampling Data for Metals and Particulate Matter Collected in 2000 and 2001
Table A-5. Summary of Continuous Emissions Sampling Data for Selected Radionuclides
Table B-1. Evaluation of Independent Panel's Air Dispersion Modeling Results
Table B-2. Results of DOE's Modeling of Radionuclide Emissions
Table C-1. DOE's Monitoring Data for Particulate Matter (1991–2000)
Table C-2. DOE's Monitoring Data for Metals (1991–2001)
Table C-3. DOE's Monitoring Data for Radionuclides (1991–2001)
Table C-4. EPA's ERAMS Data (1996–2000)
Table C-5. TDEC's Monitoring Data for Metals (1997–2002)
Table C-6. TVA's Monitoring Data for Criteria Pollutants (1999–2000)

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. ATSDR's Main Conclusion and Supporting Lines of Evidence
Figure 2. Location of the TSCA Incinerator
Figure 3. Generic Process Streams at Most Incineration Facilities
Figure 4. Block Diagram of the TSCA Incinerator
Figure 5. History of Waste Treatment Totals, by Calendar Year
Figure 6. Typical Wind Rose for the ETTP Area
Figure 7. Facilities within 10 Miles of ETTP that Disclosed Air Emissions to EPA's Toxics Release Inventory in Reporting Year 2001
Figure 8. Demographics within 3 Miles of the TSCA Incinerator
Figure 9. Process for Selecting Contaminants of Potential Health Concern
Figure 10. Locations of Ambient Air Monitoring and Ambient Air Sampling Stations
Figure 11. Synthesizing Information for the Air Exposure Pathway
Figure C-1. DOE's TSP Monitoring Locations
Figure C-2. DOE's PM10 Monitoring Locations
Figure C-3. DOE's Metals Monitoring Locations
Figure C-4. DOE's Radionuclide Monitoring Locations

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

ATSDR	Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
CDC	Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
CERCLA	Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
CNF	Central Neutralization Facility
CREG	Cancer Risk Evaluation Guide
DCG	Derived Concentration Guide
DOE	U.S. Department of Energy
DRE	destruction and removal efficiency
EMEG	Environmental Media Evaluation Guide
EPA	U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
ERAMS	Environmental Radiation Ambient Monitoring System
ETTP	East Tennessee Technology Park
ISCST	Industrial Source Complex, Short Term
LLNL	Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
MACT	maximum achievable control technology
mixed LLW	mixed low-level radioactive and hazardous waste
MRL	Minimal Risk Level
NAAQS	National Ambient Air Quality Standard
NEI	National Emissions Inventory
NESHAPs	National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants
NIOSH	National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
NPL	National Priorities List
NTP	National Toxicology Program
ORNL	Oak Ridge National Laboratory
ORR	Oak Ridge Reservation
ORRHES	Oak Ridge Reservation Health Effects Subcommittee
PAH	polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon
PCB	polychlorinated biphenyl
PHA	public health assessment
PHAWG	Public Health Assessment Work Group
PM	particulate matter
PM10	particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters less than 10 microns
PM2.5	particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters less than 2.5 microns
POHC	principal organic hazardous constituent
ppm	parts per million
RBC-N	risk-based concentration for non-cancer effects
RCRA	Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
RfC	Reference Concentration
TDEC	Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
TDOH	Tennessee Department of Health
TEQ	toxic equivalent
TLD	thermoluminescent dosimeter
TRI	Toxics Release Inventory
TRV	thermal relief vent
TSCA	Toxic Substances Control Act
TSP	total suspended particulates
TVA	Tennessee Valley Authority
UCLA	University of California at Los Angeles
VOC	volatile organic compound

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