INTERMEDIA TRANSFER-FACTORS FOR MODELING THE ENVIRONMENTAL-IMPACT OF AIR-POLLUTION FROM INDUSTRIAL SOURCES

Toxic contaminants emitted to the atmosphere may be transformed and/or transported to other environmental media such as cater, soil, and bio ta. Many models have been developed to assess the impact of these emis sions on human health and ecosystems. These models require input of ch emical-specific parameters called intermedia transfer factors (ITFs). This study focuses on assessing the accuracy of ITFs used in modeling the enviromental impact of benzene, 2,3,7,8-TCDD and hexavalent chromi um because these chemicals pose significant health risks and are widel y emitted from various industrial processes. Many of the IFTs cited in the literature were estimated rather than measured which highlights t he need for employing the most accurate estimation techniques availabl e. This study can be used to refine the health risk assessment approac h for identifying major enviromental hazards caused by industrial emis sions and thus elucidating effective control strategies.