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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Susan B. Goldhaber, MPH and Elizabeth W. Cannon. Hazardous Waste Section, Division of Waste Management, North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, 401 Oberlin Rd., Suite 150, Raleigh, NC 27699, 9195088533, susan.goldhaber@ncmail.net

Vapor intrusion is a term used to describe the migration of volatile organic chemicals from contaminated soil and/or groundwater through the subsurface into the indoor air of a building. Vapor intrusion can result from leaking petroleum underground storage tanks, leaking landfills, or accidental releases of pesticides or chlorinated solvents. The State of North Carolina, Division of Waste Management, is in the process of developing guidance on the assessment of vapor intrusion for facilities regulated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act that require clean-up action, hazardous waste sites that are being cleaned up under the Superfund program, and abandoned properties that are environmentally impaired that are under development or being considered for development, i.e., Brownfield sites. Vapor intrusion is an emerging issue that is gaining increased attention within the environmental health community; the EPA published draft guidance in 2002 and several States have published individual guidance documents on evaluating the vapor intrusion pathway. This presentation discusses the basic concepts of vapor intrusion, methods that have been used to evaluate the pathway, the problems involved in evaluating vapor intrusion, and the potential risk to public health from vapor intrusion.

Learning Objectives:

• 1.Describe vapor intrusion and recognize the key factors that affect it.
• 2.Identify methods that have been used to evaluate vapor intrusion.
• 3.List the major health risks from chemicals that can cause vapor intrusion.

Keywords: Environmental Health, Environmental Exposures

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation