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Screening for Environmental Hazards
at Sites with Contaminated Soil and Groundwater
(Summer 2008)


The document Screening For Environmental Hazards at Sites With Contaminated Soil and Groundwater (Summer 2008; "EHE Guidance" ) is a technical report prepared by staff of the Hazard Evaluation and Emergency Response (HEER) Office of the Hawai’i Department of Health (HDOH). The Summer 2008 edition of the guidance replaces and takes precedence over previous editions. . A summary of updates and significant changes to previous editions is provided in Appendix 10. Revisions to action levels for common contaminants are not expected to significantly alter the results of past site investigations or site investigations currently underway.

The EHE guidance can be used to expedite the identification of potential environmental hazards at sites with contaminated soil and groundwater as well as assist in the cleanup and redevelopment of these properties. Although not required, use of the guidance is strongly recommended. Specific topics discussed in the guidance include:

  • Introduction to Environmental Hazard Evaluations (EHEs);
  • Environmental Hazards associated with contaminated soil and groundwater;
  • Tier 1 Environmental Action Levels (EALs);
  • Decision Unit and Multi-Increment Sample Investigation Strategies;
  • Contaminants of Potential Concern at Petroleum Release Sites;
  • Contaminants of Potential Concern for Former Agricultural Lands;
  • Tier 2 action levels for arsenic, dioxins and chlordane;
  • Preparation of Environmental Hazard Evaluation Reports;
  • Advanced Environmental Hazard Evaluation Approaches; and
  • Long-Term Management of Contaminated Sites.

Volume 2 of the guidance provides supporting documentation and detailed action levels for the Tier 1 EALs presented in Volume 1.

Environmental hazards considered in the action levels include:

Soil:
▪Direct-exposure threats to human health;
▪Intrusion of subsurface vapors into buildings;
▪Leaching and subsequent threats to groundwater resources;
▪Threats to terrestrial habitats;
▪Gross contamination and general resource degradation concerns;

Groundwater:
▪Threats to drinking water resources;
▪Threats to aquatic habitats;
▪Intrusion of subsurface vapors into buildings;
▪Gross contamination and general resource degradation concerns;

Soil Gas:
▪Intrusion of subsurface vapors into buildings.

The presence or absence of possible environmental hazards at a site can be initially be determined by comparison of representative site data to the Tier 1 EAL for target contaminants. If the Tier 1 EAL is exceeded, specific environmental hazard(s) that could be present can be determined by a comparison of data to action levels the individual hazards noted above. This is automatically done in the EAL Surfer (see below).

The Tier 1 EALs are considered to be conservative. Under most circumstances, and within the limitations described, the presence of a chemical in soil, soil gas or groundwater at concentrations below the corresponding EAL can be assumed to not pose a significant long-term or “chronic” threat to human health and the environment. Additional evaluation will generally be necessary at sites where a chemical is present at concentrations above the corresponding EAL. Active remediation may or may not be required, however, depending on site-specific conditions and other considerations.

The results of this evaluation are summarized in a brief Environmental Hazard Evaluation. A preliminary EHE should be prepared as initial site data are obtained and used to guide completion of the site investigation. The final EHE should provide recommendations for additional actions at the site. This could include the need for additional site data, cleanup of the site to the Tier 1 EALs, advanced evaluation of tentatively identified hazards, preparation of an Environmental Hazard Management Plan for long-term management of contamination, etc. A simple EHE may only be a few pages long and included as one section of a site investigation report. EHEs for more complicated sites might need to be prepared as completely separate reports. In most cases, a brief, properly prepared EHE will replace the need for a more detailed (and expensive), traditional human health or “baseline” risk assessment. The EHE guidance and associated action levels are not an adequate substitute for ecological risk assessments, however, although they may be helpful in the identification of areas where such assessments are necessary.

The EAL document incorporates USEPA Regional Screening Levels (RSLs, May 2008) as one of numerous references for published soil, water and air action levels. As discussed in the user’s manual that accompanies the guidance, the USEPA RSLs cannot be used as a stand-alone tool to evaluate the need for additional actions at contaminated sites. The RSLs only address direct exposure of humans to contaminants in soil. Other potential environmental hazards are not considered (see above).

Copies of the Summer 2008 EHE guidance and associated reference material can be downloaded from the links provided below. The EHE document will be periodically updated as needed. Comments, suggestions and questions are welcome at any time and should be provided to the contact noted below.

For further information, please contact:

Office of Hazard Evaluation and Emergency Response
Hawai‘i State Department of Health
919 Ala Moana Boulevard, Room 206
Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96814
 Attn: Roger C. Brewer Telephone: 1(808)586-4328
E-mail: roger.brewer@doh.hawaii.gov

ELECTRONIC COPIES

EHE Guidance

PDF Files:
Cover Memo (Summer 2006) (127Kb)
Volume 1 (Summer 2008) (2.1 Mb)
Volume 2 Appendix 1 (Summer 2008) (2.6 Mb)
Volume 2 Appendices 2-11 (Summer 2008) (17.9 Mb)

Excel Files:
Appendix 1 Tables (Summer 2008) (1.1 MB)

SUPPLEMENTAL MODELS IN EXCEL FORMAT

EAL Surfer (Summer 2008) (1.3 Mb)
Vapor Unit Conversion (Summer 2008) (94 Kb)
BTLM Guidance (April 2007) (PDF, 215 Mb)
BTLM Spreadsheet (Summer 2008) (123 Kb)
Tier 2 Soil Direct Exposure Model (Under Development)

RELATED HDOH TECHNICAL DOCUMENTS

Use of Tier 1 EALs at UST Sites (June 2005) (63 MB) in PDF format

The write-protect password for all Excel file worksheets is “EAL.” The pdf files can be read using Adobe Reader. Free copies of Adobe Reader are available for download from the Adobe website at: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.

If you do not have the Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer, you need to install it before you can view and print the downloadable PDF files. The Acrobat Reader is free and can be downloaded to your computer by clicking on the button:   download Acrobat Reader

EAL SURFER

The EAL Surfer is a searchable, electronic version of the EAL lookup tables (see link below). The 2008 EAL Surfer includes an option for the selection of “Unrestricted” versus “Commercial/Industrial Only” land use options (not included in earlier editions). “Unrestricted” land use implies that the land could be used for residential housing, schools, medical facilities or other purposes where children or people with compromised health may visit on a regular basis. Action levels for a Commercial/Industrial Only land use category should be used with caution, however, and could require future land use restrictions on the property. Use of the EAL Surfer to screen site data and expedite preparation of EHE reports is highly recommended. The Surfer automatically generates a summary page that can be included in reports. The Surfer also includes a glossary, a summary of information on the chemical selected and an overview of options for more advanced evaluations of environmental hazards To use the EAL Surfer you must have Excel 2000 or newer installed on you computer. Simply download the Surfer from the link below then double click on the file to open the program. If you have trouble using the pulldown menus on the Surfer then remove the write protection (under the Tools menu). The password to unprotect the Surfer worksheets is “EAL.” The EAL Surfer is revised on a regular basis to reflect updates to the lookup tables in the EAL document. Please periodically check this webpage to ensure that you have the most up-to-date edition available.

OTHER POSTED DOCUMENTS AND PRESENTATIONS

A number of additional documents and presentations are available for downloading from the HDOH file transfer (ftp) web site. The URL for the site is:

dohcolab.doh.hawaii.gov/sites/ftpeha

If the login ID does not automatically appear, input “eha”. The password is “aloha”. Look for the folder titled “RBrewer’s Folder” and then look in the subfolder noted below. Refer to the overview file for a summary of posted files. Files posted to the ftp site but not noted below are also available for public use.

Example EHEs: Examples of Environmental Hazard Evaluation reports.
EHE Related Presentations: Powerpoint presentations presented by HDOH staff at national or local conferences on various EHE related subjects.

UPDATES AND WORKSHOPS

The EAL document will be revised and updated on a regular basis. Comments and suggestions from the general public are welcome at any time. Updates will be posted to this website and notification sent to persons on the EAL mailing list. Workshops to present and discuss the EALs will also be held periodically. To provide comments or be included on the mailing list for updates and workshop announcements, please contact Roger Brewer at roger.brewer@doh.hawaii.gov.

PACIFIC BASIC ENVIRONMENTAL SCREENING LEVELS

A very similar and identically-named guidance document has been prepared for the Guam Environmental Protection Agency (referred to as the Pacific Basin edition, dated Summer 2008). This updates a guidance document prepared for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in 2005. Similarities and differences between this guidance and the HEER office guidance are discussed in Section 2.12 of the HEER office guidance. The Pacific Basin edition of the EHE guidance is currently being updated to incorporate the May 2008 USEPA Regional Screening Level models. Links to the guidance will be posted on this web page when completed.

Office of Hazard Evaluation and Emergency Response
Hawai‘i State Department of Health
919 Ala Moana Boulevard, Room 206
Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96814

Telephone:   (808) 586-4249
From Maui (toll-free):   984-2400 ext 64249
From Hawai‘i (toll-free):   974-4000 ext 64249
From Kaua‘i (toll-free):   274-3141 ext 64249
From Moloka‘i or Lāna‘i (toll-free):   (800) 468-4644 ext 64249
Fax:   (808) 586-7537
E-mail:   heer@doh.hawaii.gov
24-hour Hotline:   (808) 247-2191

Web page maintained by Marsha Mealey
Last updated 18 Jul 2008

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