Waste and Cleanup Risk Assessment

Risk Management is a distinctly different process from risk assessment. Risk assessment establishes whether a risk is present and, if so, the range or magnitude of that risk. In the risk management process, the results of the risk assessment are integrated with other considerations, such as economic or legal concerns, to reach decisions regarding the need for and practicability of implementing various risk reduction activities. Risk managers also use risk assessment results as a basis for communicating risks to interested parties and the general public.

Documents | EPA Links

Documents

1. Superfund Remedy Selection
   
   
2. Clarification of the Role of ARARs in Establishing Preliminary Remedial Goals under CERCLA (PDF) (4 pp, 411K,  About PDF) August 22, 1997
   This memorandum clarifies the relationship between the two key remedy selection mandates of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) as amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA).
   
   
3. Response Actions at Sites with Contamination Inside Buildings (August 1993) (PDF) (6 pp, 104K,  About PDF)
   Addresses the use of the CERCLA authority to conduct response actions within buildings that are contaminated. Includes a flow-chart that designates the sequence of steps to take when addressing indoor contamination scenarios. Headquarters consultation requirements are defined. OSWER 9360.3-12
   
   
4. The following link contains information on addressing asbestos at Superfund sites
   
   
5. Headquarters Consultation for Dioxin Sites (PDF) (2 pp, 31K,  About PDF) OSWER Directive 9200.4-19, December 13, 1996
   This document requests that CERCLA regional offices consult with EPA Headquarters on sites where remediation goals are to be developed for dioxin in soil.
   
   
6. Approach for Addressing Dioxin in Soil and CERCLA and RCRA Sites (PDF) (6 pp, 43K,  About PDF) OSWER Directive 9200.4-26, April 13, 1998
   The purpose of this document is to recommend preliminary remediation goals (PRGs), or starting points for cleaning up dioxin in soil.
   
   
7. EPA FAQ's about the Update to the ATSDR Policy Guideline for Dioxin and Dioxin-Like Compounds in Residential Soil (PDF) (6 pp, 39K,  About PDF)
   
   
8. For lead risk assessment documents, please visit this webpage.
   
   
9. Assessment Guidance for Perchlorate (PDF) (2 pp, 72K,  About PDF)
   
   
10. EPA Radiation Risk Assessment Guidance for Superfund sites
    
    
11. National Recommended Ambient Water Quality Criteria (PDF) (36 pp, 404K,  About PDF)
    The criteria in this document (for 158 pollutants) provide guidance for states and tribes authorized to establish water quality standards under the Clean Water Act to protect human health and aquatic life.
    
    
12. The Role of Natural Resource Trustees in the Superfund Process (PDF) (10 pp, 191K,  About PDF) March 1992 Eco Update
    This EcoUpdate bulletin is intended to help project managers to work with Natural Resource Trustees, explaining the responsibilities and authorities of those trustees and those of the Remedial Project Managers and On-Scene Coordinators with respect to those trustees.
    
    
13. Ecological Risk Assessment and Risk Management Principles for Superfund Sites, (Issuance of Final Guidance) (PDF) (9 pp, 1MB,  About PDF) October 7, 1999
    Guidance intended to help Superfund project managers to make ecological assessment decisions that are consistent across the United States and are transparent to the public.
    
    
14. Eco Update Bulletin Series
    Eco Update is a bulletin series on ecological risk assessment of Superfund sites. These bulletins serve as supplements to "Ecological Risk Assessment Guidance: Process for Designing and Conducting Ecological Risk Assessments - Interim Final (EPA 540-R-97-006)"
    
    
15. Role of Screening Level Risk Assessment and Refining COCs (Chemicals or Contaminants of Concern) in Baseline Ecological Risk Assessment (PDF) (4 pp, 364K,  About PDF) 2001
    This EcoUpdate bulletin describes the process and purpose of the screening level ecological risk assessment, which is the first steps in a ecological risk assessment at a site, and how the list of COCs can be refined to include only those contaminants that may pose a risk.
    
    
16. Preliminary Remediation Goals for Ecological Endpoints (PDF) (41 pp, 140K,  About PDF)
    Eco Update, (Guidance document dated August 31, 2000.) Preliminary Remediation Goals are upper concentration limits of specific chemicals that are expected to be protective of human health or the environment and are useful in risk assessment and decision making at Superfund sites.
    
    

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EPA Links

1. Region 5 Ecology Technical Center Ecological Risk Assessment
   Overview of ecological risk assessment process in Superfund, regional case studies, toxicity profiles, and regional contacts.

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