PUBLIC HEALTH ASSESSMENT
NAVAL AIR STATION CECIL FIELD
(a/k/a USN AIR STATION CECIL FIELD)
JACKSONVILLE, DUVAL COUNTY, FLORIDA
EPA FACILITY ID: FL5170022474 
September 30, 2002
Prepared by:
Federal Facilities Assessment Branch
Division of Health Assessment and Consultation
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
ACRONYMS, ABBREVIATIONS, AND GLOSSARY
III. EVALUATION OF ENVIRONMETNAL CONTAMINATION, EXPOSURE PATHWAYS, AND PUBLIC HEALTH IMPLICATIONS
III. COMMUNITY HEALTH CONCERNS
Exposure Situation and Hazard Summary Table - Cecil Field Naval Air Station, FL
ACRONYMS, ABBREVIATIONS, AND GLOSSARY
| ATSDR | Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry |
| adverse health effects | negative or unwanted effects on the health of an individual; for example, effects may include a specific illness or a general decrease in the overall health of a person |
| analyte(s) | The chemical or list of chemicals to be analyzed in the laboratory |
| AOI | Area of Investigation |
| aquifer | A geologic (rock) formation through which ground water moves and that is capable of producing water in sufficient quantities for a well |
| AVGAS | Aviation gas |
| bioaccumulation | Substances that increase in concentration in living organisms as they take in contaminated air, water, or food because the substances are very slowly metabolized or excreted. (See: biological magnification.) |
| bioconcentration | The accumulation of a chemical in tissues of a fish or other organism to levels greater than in the surrounding medium. |
| biomagnification | Biological Magnification: Refers to the process whereby certain substances such as pesticides or heavy metals move up the food chain, work their way into rivers or lakes, and are eaten by aquatic organisms such as fish, which in turn are eaten by large birds, animals or humans. The substances become concentrated in tissues or internal organs as they move up the chain. (See: bioaccumulants.) |
| BRAC | Base Realignment and Closure |
| BTEX | Major components of gasoline. BTEX stands for benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene |
| CDC | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |
| CAIS | Chemical Agent Identification Sets |
| CERCLA | Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act |
| CREG | Cancer Risk Evaluation Guide (CREG) is a concentration in air, soil, or water at which a person's risk of cancer after exposure for 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and for 70 years is 1 x 10-6. Cancer risk assessments are typically only done on adults since animal studies are typically done on animals after they have reached puberty. |
| CSF | See Cancer Slope Factor. |
| Cancer Slope Factor | The slope of the oral dose-response curve for cancer. This value is derived by EPA and maintained on its IRIS database and used to estimate the risk from carcinogens. |
| Comparison Values or CVs | A concentration of a given contaminant in soil, water, or air below which no adverse human health effects are expected to occur. Comparison values are used by ATSDR health assessors to select environmental contaminants for further evaluation and can be based on either carcinogenic effects or noncarcinogenic effects. |
| COPC | Chemicals of potential concern |
| DCA | Dichloroethane |
| DCE | Dichloroethene or Dichloroethylene |
| DU | Depleted uranium |
| EMEG | Environmental Media Evaluation Guide (EMEG)-A concentration
in air, soil, or water below which no adverse non-cancer health effects
are expected to occur. EMEGs are derived from ATSDR's Minimal Risk Levels
(MRL), and are expressed for acute (short), intermediate (medium), and chronic
(long-term) exposures. They are used in selecting environmental contaminants for further evaluation. |
| EPA | United States Environmental Protection Agency |
| EBS | Environmental Baseline Survey is a report documenting the bases environmental status. |
| Feasibility Study | A study conducted to determine the best alternative for remediating environmental contamination based on a number of factors including health risk and costs |
| FID | Flame ionizing detector |
| Florida DEP, FDEP | Florida Department of Environmental Protection |
| GC | Gas chromatograph |
| groundwater | Water beneath the earth's surface in the spaces between soil particles and in rock |
| HI/HQ hazard index/quotient |
Hazard Quotient (HQ): A comparison of the daily human exposure
to a substance to the Minimum Risk Level (MRL) or a Reference Dose (RfD).
The value used as an assessment of non-cancer associated toxic effects of
chemicals, e.g., kidney or liver dysfunction. It is independent of a cancer
risk, which is calculated only for those chemicals identified as carcinogens.
A hazard index or quotient of 1 or less is generally considered safe. A
ratio greater than 1 suggests further evaluation if needed.
Hazard Index (HI): A summation of the HQ for all chemicals being evaluated. A Hazard Index value of 1.0 or less means that no adverse human health effects (non-cancer) are expected to occur. A ratio greater than 1 suggests further evaluation is needed. |
| ingestion | Eating and drinking; for example, children eating lead paint chips or swallowing lead in dust due to chewing and sucking activity on hands and toys |
| IRP | Installation Restoration Program (Department of Defense) |
| J | This letter is used as a modifier to a chemical concentration indicating that the concentration value is an estimated quantity because the analytical methods used to quantify the chemical concentration were not sufficiently precise or accurate at the concentrations detected. |
| JP-5 | Jet propulsion fuel (number 5), primarily kerosene with additives |
| L | Liter |
| MCL | Maximum Contaminant Level. A concentration of a chemical that cannot be legally exceeded in a public drinking water supply system. The MCL is devised and enforced by U.S. EPA. States may also enforce the MCL as well as develop more stringent values. |
| median | the middle value, same number of samples above and below the middle value |
| migration | Moving from one location to another |
| mg/kg | Milligram per kilogram |
| mg/m3 | Milligrams per cubic meter; a measure of the concentration of a chemical in a known amount (a cubic meter) of air, soil, or water |
| MRL | Minimal Risk Level: An estimate, developed by ATSDR, of the daily human exposure to a substance below which no adverse non-cancer health effects are expected to occur. MRLs are available for acute, intermediate, and chronic exposures. |
| Mogas | Automotive gasoline |
| munitions | Explosive military items; for example, grenades and bombs |
| NAS | Naval Air Station |
| ND | Not detected. The chemical was not detected at the analytical limits of the equipment and procedures. |
| NPL | National Priorities List (of Superfund sites) |
| NOAEL | No-Observed-Adverse-Effect Level -- The dose of chemical at which there were no statistically or biologically significant increases in frequency or severity of adverse effects seen between the exposed animal population and its appropriate control. Effects may be produced at this dose, but they are not considered to be adverse. |
| ng/m3 | Nanograms per cubic meter. A measure of the concentration of a chemical in a known amount (a cubic meter) of air, soil, or water |
| ordnance | Military materiel, such as weapons, ammunition, explosives, combat vehicles, and equipment |
| OLF | Outlying Landing Field |
| OU | Operable Unit |
| Pathway | To determine whether nearby residents are exposed to contaminants
migrating from a site, ATSDR evaluates the environmental and human components
that lead to human exposure. This pathways analysis consists of five elements:
source of contamination, transport through an environmental medium, a point
of exposure, a route of human exposure (for example, dermal contact or ingestion),
and an exposed population.
ATSDR identifies exposure pathways as completed, potential, or eliminated. For a completed pathway to exist, five elements must be present to provide evidence that exposure to a contaminant has occurred, is occurring, or will occur. A potential pathway, however, is defined as a situation in which at least one of the five elements is missing, but could exist. Potential pathways indicate that exposure to a contaminant could have occurred, could be occurring, or could occur in the future. Pathways are eliminated when at least one of the five elements is missing and will never be present. |
| Pb | Lead |
| PbB | Lead concentration in blood |
| PCE | Perchloroethene, also known as tetrachloroethene |
| PAH | Polyaromatic hydrocarbons |
| PCB | Polychlorinated Biphenyls |
| PHA | Public Health Assessment |
| PID | Photo Ionizing Detector |
| PSC | Possible Source of Contamination |
| ppb | Parts per billion |
| ppm | Parts per million |
| RfD | See Reference dose |
| RI/FS | Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study |
| Reference dose | An estimate of the daily exposure to the general public that is likely to have no measurable risk of harmful health effects during a lifetime exposure or exposure during a limited time interval |
| Restoration Advisory Board | A committee of public and private citizens formed to act as a focal point for information exchange between NAS Cecil Field, private citizens, and other public agencies |
| RDX | An explosive with the chemical name cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine |
| Remedial Investigation | The CERCLA process of determining the type and extent of hazardous material contamination at a site |
| Risk | A qualitative and quantitative expression of the theoretical
probability of potential adverse health effects occurring at specific levels
of exposure to chemical or physical hazards. Risk is not predictive.
Risk incorporates very conservative assumptions. Adverse health effects
can be the result of noncancer and cancer. Risk from cancer is expressed
as a probability such as 1 in 1,000,000 (also expressed 1 x 10-6
or 1E-6). This means that 1 person in a population of 1,000,000 are more
likely to get cancer over the lifetime of these people. Other risk values
considered are 1 in 10,000 and 1 in 100,000. This cancer risk is above the
background cancer risk which is about 1 in 4 or 250,000 people in a population
in 1,000,000.
A noncancer health risk is expressed as a hazard quotient (HQ, this term is defined in this glossary). |
| SQL | Sample Specific Quantization Limit |
| solvent | A liquid capable of dissolving or dispersing another substance; for example, acetone or mineral spirits |
| subsistence | Needed to support life |
| TCA | Trichloroethane |
| TCE | Trichloroethene |
| µg/L | Micrograms per liter. A measure of the concentration of a chemical in a known amount (a liter) of air, soil, or water |
| µg/dL | Micrograms per deciliter. A measure of the concentration of a chemical in a known amount (deciliter) of liquid; for example, the concentration of lead in a blood sample |
| µg/m3 | Microgram per cubic meter. A measure of the concentration of a chemical in a known amount (a cubic meter) of air, soil, or water |
| UXO | Unexploded Ordnance |
| VOC | Volatile organic compound |
| YWWA | Yellow Water Weapons Area |
