Tag Archives: Indoor air

About those calls from MassDEP…

TCE_moleculesLast month, we wrote about MassDEP’s trichloroethylene (TCE) site reevaluation initiative. MassDEP has begun the process of screening sites previously closed under the MCP to look for sites where TCE might exceed the new groundwater concentration standard of 5 μg/L.   At yesterday’s meeting of the Waste Site Cleanup Advisory Committee, MassDEP provided an update on this initiative.

MassDEP has not yet begun contacting owners of closed sites.  … More

If MassDEP calls…

TCE_moleculesAt a recent meeting of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection’s Waste Site Cleanup Advisory Committee, MassDEP announced that it will soon begin the process of contacting owners of previously closed sites where the available data suggest that trichloroethylene (TCE) levels may be problematic. Back in June of 2014, MassDEP promulgated rules updating its standards to reflect the most recent USEPA toxicity values. MassDEP updated its imminent hazard standards for TCE exposure in indoor air and simultaneously updated its MCP Method 1 soil and groundwater standards and reportable concentrations to reflect the new values.… More

Vapor Intrusion and the National Priorities List: Why Should the Biggest Superfund Problem Not Be Regulated Under Superfund?

As I have previously mentioned, EPA is considering including criteria related to vapor intrusion (VI) in the hazard ranking system scoring used to determine which sites should be added to the National Priorities List. As I noted when this first became news, it’s pretty much an obvious step for EPA to take. These are precisely the types of sites on which EPA should be focusing. At a certain level,… More

A Twofer: Indoor Air and Guidance v. Regulation

Vapor intrusion is the issue de jour at federal and state Superfund sites. On the federal side, EPA announced in January that it was considering adding vapor intrusion criteria to its calculation of hazard ranking scores. Frankly, as a concept, it’s hard to dispute. In fact, aside from when actual public water supplies are contaminated, indoor air is probably about the only risk associated with Superfund sites that we should care about. Every analysis EPA has ever done has shown that risks associated with Superfund sites are otherwise overestimated and it is not a cost-effective place to be putting environmental protection dollars. The question of course is how to go about regulating indoor air.… More