Case history review - Demilitarization combustion permits

In May 1993, Administrative Browner of the U.S. Environmental Protection Ag ency (USEPA) announced that an indirect exposure health risk assessment was required for all hazardous waste combustion facilities seeking a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act permit. These types of risk assessments evalu ate the health and environmental effects from inhalation of emissions (dire ct exposure) and from contact with environmental media and consumption of f ood products impacted by the emissions (indirect exposure). Completion of a n indirect exposure risk assessment is often complicated by the various met hodologies available for generating results and by the requirements of the regulating community. To minimize this complexity and to maximize consisten cy between risk assessments, the USEPA developed a number of detailed guida nce documents. Site-specific conditions and toxicological data gaps, howeve r, continue to present challenges not addressed by these guidance documents . This paper presents some of the specific challenges encountered by the U. S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine when performing indirect exposure health risk assessments for several demilitarization com bustion facilities.