United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5202G)
EPA-540-F-98-055
OSWER-9285.7-26J-P
PB99-963302
February 1999
www.epa.gov/superfund
Superf und Today
Focus on Revisions to Super-fund's Risk Assessment Guidance
E1
Moves Ahead on Risk Assessment Reforms I Wtldt S IMGW:
Highlights of the
RAGS Reform Projects
The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is revising and updating
parts of the Risk Assessment Guidance
for Super fund (RAGS) relating to:
• Community Involvement in Superfund
Risk Assessments;
• Non-residential Land Use
Considerations;
• Establishing Background for Risk
Assessment; and
• Probabilistic Risk Assessment.
This fact sheet highlights the risk
assessment project activities,
anticipated work products, and
schedules for completion. Additional
information on RAGS Reforms can be
found on EPA's home page in the
October 1997 issue of Superfund Today:
Focus on Revisions to Superfund's Risk
Assessment Guidance (www.epa.gov/
superfund/tools/today/sft_rags.htm).
Since the first RAGS Reform
Stake holder Forum in 1996, EPA has
received valuable input from a broad
spectrum of stakeholders on technical
and policy issues related to these
reforms. EPA's goal is to complete most
of the remaining RAGS Reform work
during 1999. More updates will be added
later as supporting guidance documents
are expanded. Stakeholders can
continue to provide input on future
drafts by contacting EPA staff directly
(see next page for contacts).
Frequently Asked Questions:
Should Risk Assessors Still
Use the 1989 RAGS Part A?
Yes. While parts of the RAGS
documents (Parts A through C) may be
updated, the 1989 RAGS Part A
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•nnricp I
document remains an excellent, concise
reference for risk assessment methods
and guidance. Risk assessors should
also refer to more recent national and
regional guidance, as well as state
guidance.
What About Ecological Risk
Assessment Guidance?
Two of the RAGS Reforms-
establishing background for risk
assessment and probabilistic risk
assessment—address ecological risk
assessment issues. Also, EPA's
Ecological Risk Assessment Forum
focuses on Agency-wide advances in
ecological risk assessment. To learn
more about the advances in ecological
risk assessment, please contact a
regional EPA risk assessor. Current
information is also available on EPA's
home page (www.epa.gov/superfund/
programs/ert; click on "Media
Resources").
What Will the New RAGS
Documents Look Like?
The work products for each of the
four RAGS Reform topics will be
issued as fact sheets (as needed), and
stand-alone documents.
What Is the Schedule for Completion?
All of the Risk Assessment Reform
works-in-progress will be completed as
final or review documents in 1999.
Some guidance documents will be
available sooner than others. The first
guidance document and fact sheet on
Community Involvement in Superfund
Risk Assessments will be available in
early 1999.
* Community Involvement in
Superfund Risk Assessments
The National Contingency Plan
requires EPA to involve the community
at Superfund sites. However, people
have told EPA that they want a more
meaningful role in the risk assessment
process. This RAGS Reform offers
clearer guidance on ways communities
can provide input and encourages early
involvement in risk assessment when
feasible. The guidance materials identify
ways to get people involved on a site-
by-site basis and emphasizes the need
for EPA to clarify how such input will
be considered in the risk assessment.
Guidance
This effort will produce two
documents that provide ways to better
involve citizens in the Superfund risk
assessment process. EPA will issue
guidance for Superfund site teams as
part of RAGS under the title Community
Involvement in Superfund Risk
Assessments, A Supplement to RAGS
Part A. In addition, a separate
Superfund Today fact sheet issued for
citizens will explain the role of
community involvement in risk
assessment. The guidance document
provides key questions to ask
communities, a summary of "tips" for
Superfund teams and citizens, suggested
resources, and example cases. These
documents will be available early in
1999.
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Risk Assessment Video
To help people understand how
they can be involved in risk
assessment, EPA is developing a
videotape called "Superfund Risk
Assessment: How Communities Can
Be Involved. " The videotape
describes the risk assessment process
and how people have contributed at
Superfund sites around the country.
This tool can serve as a starting point
for addressing citizens' interest in risk
assessment and showing how such
interest will affect the cleanup at a
Superfund site in their community.
The video project will be completed
mid-1999.
* Non-Residential Land
Use Considerations
Future land use is an important
factor in evaluating risks associated
with Superfund sites. The RAGS
Reform project is expanding upon
RAGS Part B and the Soil Screening
Guidance that address residential
exposures to contaminants in soil and
groundwater. The new guidance will
incorporate a site-specific vapor
intrusion model that can be applied at
non-residential sites. EPA reviewed
regulatory agencies' approaches to
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addressing non-residential land uses
and methods for assessing exposures
to people who work near sites.
Exposure data for occupational
scenarios will be included in an
expanded guidance document to
supplement EPA's RAGS Part B.
The draft guidance will be completed
this year.
* Establishing Background
for Risk Assessment
Superfund teams often are faced
with determining background for
certain substances in soil and other
environmental media. The issues are
complex and present a challenge for
regulators nationwide. This reform
addresses the need for uniform
guidance on how to determine
background for substances in soil.
The background workgroup
developed a preliminary screening-level
approach in 1998 that emphasized the
importance of adequate site
characterization. Further research is
under way to review other agencies'
approaches to handling background
issues in risk assessment and risk
management decisions. Using this and
other information, the workgroup will
develop a technical guidance document
for soil background determinations, to
be completed as a review draft in
September 1999.
* Probabilistic Risk
Assessment
This Reform addresses the proper
application of probabilistic risk analysis
in Superfund baseline risk assessments.
EPA presented a draft guidance on the
use of probabilistic risk analysis in risk
assessment, originally called RAGS Part
E, to stakeholders at various meetings in
1998. The final guidance document will
be published as RAGS Volume 3,
instead of Part E, as it addresses both
human health and ecological risk
assessment applications. The guidance
will have a companion workbook
containing Superfund case studies.
Both documents will continue to be
developed through the end of 1999.
Those interested in probabilistic risk
assessment should look for future
updates to this guidance that will
address parameter distributions and
clarify guidance and policy.
More information is available at:
http://www.epa.gov/superfund/
tools/today/sft_rags.htm
EPA Contacts
Headquarter's Lead for Jayne Michaud, U.S. EPA Headquarters, 401 M Street, SW (5204G), Washington, DC 20460
RAGS Reforms 703-603-8847 (phone), 703-603-9104 (fax), michaud.jayne@epa.gov
Regional Lead for RAGS
Reforms
Community Involvement
in Superfund Risk
Assessments
Risk Video
Marian Olsen, U.S. EPA Region 2, 212-637-4313 (phone), olsen.marian@epa.gov
Bruce Engelbert, U.S. EPA Headquarters, 703-603-8711 (phone), engelbert.bruce@epa.gov
Jayne Michaud, U.S. EPA Headquarters, 703-603-8847 (phone), michaud.jayne@epa.gov
Sophia Serda, U.S. EPA Region 9 (SFD-8B), 415-744-2307 (phone), serda.sophia@epa.gov
Diana Hammer, U.S.EPA Region 8, 303-312-6601 (phone), hammer.diana@epa.gov
Jayne Michaud, U.S. EPA Headquarters, 703-603-8847 (phone), michaud.jayne@epa.gov
Establishing Background Sherri Clark, U.S. EPA Headquarters, 703-603-9043 (phone), clark.sherri@epa.gov
for Risk Assessment Sophia Serda, U.S. EPA Region 9(SFD-8B), 415-744-2307 (phone), serda.sophia@epa.gov
Land Use Consideration
Probabilistic Risk
Assessment
David Cooper, U.S. EPA Headquarters, 703-603-8763 (phone), cooper.david@epa.gov
Janine Dinan, U.S. EPA Headquarters, 703-603-8824 (phone), dinan.janine@epa.gov
Steve Chang, U.S. EPA Headquarters, 703-603-9017 (phone), chang.steve@epa.gov
Marian Olsen, U.S. EPA Region 2, 212-637-4313 (phone), olsen.marian@epa.gov
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