Petroleum‐related risk factors and soil screening levels

Abstract

In an effort to develop risk‐based Soil Screening Levels (SSLs) for Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH) in weathered soils, literature reviews were conducted to identify information regarding toxicology and previously developed oral risk factors for neat petroleum products and their potential surrogates, in particular, long chain petroleum hydrocarbons (LCPHs). Oral reference doses (RfDs) were identified in the literature for hexane; nonane; gasoline; JE‐4; JP‐5; marine diesel fuel; and mineral oil. Alternative RfDs_s are proposed for these previously developed oral RfDs and new oral RfDs_s were developed for other petroleum‐related chemicals where sufficient toxicological information was available. RfDs_s were developed for hexane; nonane; decane; C₁₀ ‐ C₁₁ isoparaffinic hydrocarbon; dearomatized white spirit C₁₁ ‐ C₁₂; gasoline; JP‐4; JP‐5; JP‐7; JP‐8; marine diesel fuel; mineral oil; and for petroleum wax. Then risk‐based SSLs were estimated for each of these compounds using the oral RfDs and the child resident soil ingestion pathway. Finally, a general SSL of 25,000 mg/kg is proposed for LCPHs.

Key words:

• petroleum hydrocarbons
• jet fuels
• gasoline
• diesel
• nonane
• decane

Notes

To whom correspondence should be addressed: 2000 Rush Creek Ct., Findlay, OH 45840; Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone]

Toxicology Division, Occupational and Environmental Health Directorate, Armstrong Laboratory, WPAFB, OH 45433–7400