ESTIMATING SPATIAL-DISTRIBUTION OF EXPOSURE BY INTEGRATING RADIOTELEMETRY, COMPUTER-SIMULATION, AND GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION-SYSTEM (GIS) TECHNIQUES

The presence of native wildlife species at a chemical production facil ity provides an interesting opportunity to assess the movement, uptake , and potential impact of pollutants in the environment. Representativ es of a wildlife species that serve as sentinels for adverse health ef fects can be captured and radio collared to determine their movement p atterns and home range by telemetry. Data on the characteristics of th e point source air release were used in a Gaussian plume model to prov ide estimates of ambient air contaminant levels. These concentration a nd telemetry data were then mapped spatially using land use/land cover data in a geographic information system (GIS) to develop an integrate d exposure estimate. This was then used to predict study areas that ma y be of ecological concern and that may warrant further investigation for potentially adverse effects in wildlife populations at other conta minated sites.