Evaluation of the physical hazards associated with two remedial alternatives at a superfund site

This study presents an evaluation of the risks due to the physical hazards associated with two remedial alternatives for a former chemical manufacturi ng facility in New Jersey. Both the on-site and off-site risk of work-relat ed fatalities during remedy implementation and the risks of accident or acc ident-related fatalities during the off-site transport of site-related mate rials were evaluated. The two remedial alternatives evaluated were on-site containment and excavation with off-site incineration. The risk of at least one fatality due to a work-related accident was estimated for on-site acti vities associated with each remedial alternative, and for off-site incinera tion. The risks of at least one accident and of one accident-related fatali ty were calculated with accident and fatality data from the U.S, Department of Transportation. In addition, the risk of at least one accident that mig ht potentially affect a natural resource (e,g,. river, lake, or national pa rk) was evaluated. This evaluation Indicates that the risk of a work-relate d fatality is over an order of magnitude higher, and the risk of an acciden t or accident-related fatality is over three orders of magnitude higher, fo r the excavation/off-site incineration remedial alternative than for the on -site containment alternative. Overall, this study indicates that the physi cal hazards associated with excavation and off-site incineration are much g reater than those associated with on-site containment for this site. Theref ore, if a choice be tween the two remedial alternatives were to be made bas ed solely on physical hazards and accident risk. the on-site containment al ternative would be more protective of human health and the environment than the excavation/off-site incineration alternative.