EPA Vapor Intrusion (VI) Stakeholder-Involvement Forum. March 19, 2012 AEHS West Coast Conference San Diego, Calf. w/ Full Web Access

Transcription

1 EPA Vapor Intrusion (VI) Stakeholder-Involvement Forum March 19, 2012 AEHS West Coast Conference San Diego, Calf. w/ Full Web Access

2 VI Guidance is a Pilot for EPA s Community Engagement Initiative Objective of EPA s CEI Initiative: Proactively engage communities Beyond the traditional outreach practices During guidance development Especially for environmental justice and at-risk communities Consistent with that, today s Forum was created to allow VI-experienced communities to provide input focused on stakeholders involvement in addressing VI concerns

3 EPA Vapor Intrusion Stakeholder-Involvement Forum 1:00 EPA Perspectives on Stakeholder Involvement Melissa Dreyfus Update Draft OSWER VIG Community Involvement Guidance Henry Schuver A RCRA Perspective 1:20 Community Representative s Perspective on Stakeholder Involvement L. Siegel 1:30 Input from VI Community Stakeholders (10 min. comments, 5 min. open mike ea.) Buddy Andrade, New Bedford, MA Ken Deschere, Ithaca, NY Lisa Riggiola, Pompton Lakes, NJ Kelly Lewis, Bronx, NY Linda Towe, Baltimore, MD Wanda Washington (& Laura Ward), Tallevast, FL Barry Durand (& Tate MacQueen) Asheville, NC 3:00 Calf. DTSC s VI Public Participation Advisory William S. Bosan, Ph.D. Mary Moore, Phoenix, AZ Peter Voggenthaler, Las Vegas, NV Jane Horton, Mountain View, CA 4:00 Summary of Input, Comments, and Recommendations received today L. Siegel 4:15 Discussion of

4 Update Draft OSWER VIG Community Involvement Guidance Melissa Dreyfus

5 A RCRA Perspective* on Stakeholder Involvement There may be new approaches where more active stakeholder involvement could result in: Increased Benefits (for all stakeholders) Decreased Costs Higher Community Acceptance Longer-Lasting Resolutions to VI Concerns ** *Presented by Henry Schuver **Not intended for cases with obviously unacceptable VI

6 A more holistic (Public Health) perspective recognizes that: Chemicals are not the only hazards in soil gas We are making the (PH) case for: Voluntary Sampling of Radon

7 Radon Risk There is no known threshold below which radon exposure carries no risk. The lower the radon concentration in a home, the lower the risk. (WHO, 2009) Lung cancer only ~4.5% if Added Zeros to show: 1E-4 1E-5 1E-6 Regardless of Radon Zone recommend all homes be tested

8 WHO, OIG, states, local, EPA & Surgeon General + recommend all homes be tested for Radon (1994) Deaths/yr. I was told by the EPA our area levels average 1.8; we tested at 57.2! Designed for homeowner use 8x CanSAR Radon The Voices (2011) Radon (~21,000) 70x Smoke/Fire (~2,580) Carbon Monoxide (~300) Indoor Radon Abatement Act (1988) The IRAA establishes a long-term goal that indoor air be as free from radon as the ambient air outside buildings. Annual Deaths related to selected Toxic Gases (in US Homes)

9 Homes over VI sources Should be sampled for Radon For two reasons: 1) To use Rn as a gen. tracer of all soil vapor intrusion Essentially the same (near building) VI entry mechanisms A powerful additional line-of-evidence for soil VI» Easily measured in individual buildings continuously 2) For the original purpose to know Radon risks Meet EPA s long standing recommendation (for all homes) As a Public Health service to the building occupants» If they want to do it

10 Question 1: Radon meters EPA is exploring a way to empower communities affected by vapor intrusion issues by helping to provide individual households with a simple meter that measures radon Would you be interested in being a volunteer to use one of these meters? Note, you would not be obligated to report your observations, although sharing your results could help develop an understanding of building-specific variability across your community Also note, these observations can even be useful for buildings with active soil-gas intrusion controls in place, as they can test the effectiveness of such systems* *Continuously

11 Thank You We look forward to your input