EPA Region 2 health effects screening criteria for ambient air

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

contaminants). In cases where the screening value based on a noncancer endpoint is more stringent, screening values for both cancer and noncancer endpoints are presented. It is also noted that the default 30 year exposure duration (and the 1 year site-specific adjustment) reflects an apportionment between child (20% of total exposure duration) and adult (80 % of total exposure duration) receptors. Because children have comparatively greater (as a function of body weight) respiration rates than adults, the screening values presented in Table 1 are marginally more stringent than values that would otherwise be derived by direct application of IRIS verified Unit Risk values.

For noncarcinogenic compounds, the Hazard Quotient (chronic daily intake/RfC) was set at 10. A Hazard Quotient of 10 is employed in the HEH to account for the fact that chronic toxicity criteria (RfDs/RfCs) are being applied to sub-chronic exposure scenarios that are not expected to exceed 6 months -1 year in duration. Accordingly, a Hazard Quotient of 10 was utilized for non-carcinogens in Table 1 to reflect a similar (i.e., upper bound of 1 year) exposure duration. It is noted that contaminants (both non-carcinogens and carcinogens, alike) can exhibit acute effects from short-term, high-dose exposures. Because the screening values in Table 1 are based on subchronic exposure (i.e., 1 year), acute effects from exposures that are below the screening levels would be unlikely. Additionally, a review of California EPA’s (CAL-EPA) Acute Risk Levels demonstrates that the screening criteria in Table 1 are categorically more stringent than the Cal-EPA’s analogous acute levels.

NOTE: Individual sampling results that exceed screening values should not be interpreted to represent the occurrence of an adverse health effect. Rather, such information indicates the need for careful monitoring and the assessment of longer-term data trends for evaluation against appropriate health criteria. That is, most of the screening levels have been developed to account for continuous one year average exposure durations. Because these screening levels assume continuous exposure for an extended duration, the average of the measured concentrations is more appropriate for evaluating risk than an individual measurement. Consequently, miscellaneous individual values above the screening level may not necessarily be indicative of potential for concern.

Table 1 World Trade Center Screening Criteria Contaminant Site Worker Resident '2’ Inorganics Asbestos .1 f7cc(PCM) 70 S/mm2 (TEM) Cadmium 5 pg/m’ .2 pg/m’ 3 pg/m’ Chromium too (xg/m’ .6 pg/m’ Lead 50 gg/m^ 1.5 pg/m’ Manganese 5 mg/m’ .5 pg/m’

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