Measuring vapor intrusion: from source science politics to a transdisciplinary approach

Abstract

Investigation of indoor air quality has been on the upswing in recent years. In this article, we focus on how the transport of subsurface vapors into indoor air spaces, a process known as ‘vapor intrusion’, (VI) is defined and addressed. For environmental engineers and physical scientists who specialize in this emerging indoor environmental exposure science, VI is notoriously difficult to characterize, leading the regulatory community to seek improved science-based understandings of VI pathways and exposures. Yet despite the recent growth in VI science and competition between environmental consulting companies, VI studies have largely overlooked the social and political field in which VI problems emerge and are experienced by those at risk. To balance and inform current VI studies, this article explores VI science and policy and develops a critique of what we call ‘source science politics’. Drawing inspiration from the creative synthesis of social and environmental science/engineering perspectives, the article offers a transdisciplinary approach to VI that highlights collaboration with social scientists and impacted communities and cultivates epistemic empathy.

Keywords:

• vapor intrusion
• indoor air
• uncertainty
• transdisciplinarity
• source science
• risk

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This project derived from research supported by a University of Kentucky Superfund Research Program grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences [Grant Number P42ES007380] and the National Science Foundation [Grant Number 1452800]. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the National Institutes of Health or the National Science Foundation.

Notes on contributors

Peter C. Little

Peter C. Little, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology at Rhode Island College. His research in environmental and medical anthropology explores community responses to pollution, environmental justice activism, and the political ecology and economy of the high-tech industry. He is the author of Toxic Town: IBM, Pollution, and Industrial Risks (NYU Press, 2014).

Kelly G. Pennell

Kelly G. Pennell, PhD, PE is an associate professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Kentucky. Her research investigates vapor intrusion exposure risks, fate and transport of environmental contaminants, and methods for effective knowledge brokering. Leveraging her role as an academic researcher, as well as her past experience as environmental consultant and a governmental liaison, she situates her research at the intersection of policy, practice and research.