Measurement and estimated health risks of volatile organic compounds and polychlorinated biphenyls in air at the Hanford Site

Abstract

A variety of radioactive and nonradioactive chemicals have been released in effluent streams and discharged to waste disposal facilities during the nuclear materials production period at the Hanford Site. Extensive environmental surveillance for radioactive materials has occurred at Hanford; however, only limited information is available on the types and concentrations of organic pollutants potentially present. This report describes work performed to provide the Hanford Site Surface Environmental Surveillance Project with representative air concentration data for volatile organic compounds and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) volatile organic compound sampling methods evaluated for Hanford Site use were carbon-based adsorbent traps (TO-2) and Summa air canisters (TO-14). Polychlorinated biphenyls were sampled using USEPA method (TO-4), which uses glass fiber filters and polyurethane foam adsorbent beds to collect the PCBs. This report also presents results for environmental surveillance samples collected for volatile organic compound and PCB analyses from 1990 to 1993. All measured air concentrations of volatile organic compounds and PCBs were well below applicable maximum allowable concentration standards for air contaminants. Because of the lack of ambient air concentration standards, a conservative estimate is provided of the potential human health impacts from exposure to the ambient air concentrations measured on the Hanford Site.