Procedures for Estimating Emissions from the Cleanup of Superfund Sites

Abstract

Emissions of organic and inorganic contaminants from Superfund (NPL) sites are a potential health risk, even from undisturbed sites. Cleanup activities can result in greatly enhanced emissions and may cause significant impacts to the local air quality for both on-site workers and the surrounding community. However, the air quality impacts of common remedial options have not been fully characterized and therefore, an air pathway analysis has historically been difficult to assess for remedial actions. To address this need, work is in progress to develop guidelines for predicting and measuring air emissions during remedial activities. This paper summarizes the work to date, sets forth equations, and briefly describes planned future activities.

The emissions potential is discussed for four common remedial options: soil removal, incineration, air stripping, and in-situ venting. Information is summarized for the typical operational rates and the range of emissions associated with each option. Types of emissions covered include volatile organic compounds, particulate matter, metals, acid gases, and dioxins and furans. Both fugitive and process emissions are included. Typical control technologies for each remedial option are given along with data on typical application or operational rates and the effectiveness of emission controls. Finally, a general approach for estimating emissions for a given site and clean-up option is described and references provided for more detailed guidance.