PUBLIC HEALTH ASSESSMENT
LIMESTONE ROAD SITE
CUMBERLAND, ALLEGANY COUNTY, MARYLAND
Figures
Figure 2. Soil Sampling Locations
Figure 3. Residential Well, Surface Water/Sediment, and Monitoring Well Locations
Tables
| Contaminant | Max. Concentrations in Soil(mg/kg) | Sampling datea | Reference | Comparison value (mg/kg) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diggs | Soil depth | CCSC | Soil depth | RI 8/86 | |||
| Benzidine | |||||||
| Chlordane | |||||||
| Heptachlor epoxide | |||||||
| Benzo(a) pyrene | |||||||
| Antimony | |||||||
| Arsenic | |||||||
| Beryllium | |||||||
| Cadmium | |||||||
| Chromium | |||||||
| Cobalt | |||||||
| Cyanide | |||||||
| Lead | |||||||
| Nickel | |||||||
a - sampling date is indicated for maximum concentration
b1 - based on USEPA Reference Dose and incidental ingestion exposure pathways for a 70 kg adult ingesting 100mg soil per day.
b2 - based on USEPA cancer potency and a one-in-one million risk level for a 70 kg adult ingesting 100 mg of soilper day.
c - comparison value derived by ATSDR for pica child ingesting 500 mg soil per day.
d - comparison value derived by ATSDR for child ingesting 200 mg soil per day.
e - comparison value derived by ATSDR for an adult ingesting 100 mg soil per day.
f - USEPA interim action level for lead.
g - Mean background concentration for Eastern U.S. (Shacklette, H.T., J.G. Boerngen, 1984). This is not a health- based comparison value.
| Chemical | Max. Conc. in City Dump soil/fly ash (mg/kg) | Max. conc. in local background soil (mg/kg) | Reference | Range in Eastern US soil (mg/kg) | Comparison Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aluminum | 7,100 | 19,800 | RI 8/86 | 0.7% ->10% | NA |
| Arsenic | 219 | 15 | RI 8/86 | <0.1 - 73 | 0.40b2 |
| Barium | 469 | 249 | RI 8/86 | 10 - 1,500 | 0.40b2 |
| Beryllium | 0.87 | 0.5 | RI 8/86 | <1 - 7 | 0.083b2 |
| Cadmium | 11 | ND | RI 8/86 | 0.01% - 28% | 300e |
| Chromium | 54 | 16 | RI 8/86 | 1 - 1,000 | 3000.0e |
| Lead | 832 | 285 | RI 8/86 | <10 - 300 | 250f |
| Mercury | 3.6 | 0.3 | RI 8/86 | 0.01 - 3.4 | 560e |
| Nickel | 40 | 27 | RI 8/86 | <5 - 700 | 14,000e |
| Zinc | 428 | 76 | RI 8/86 | <5 - 2,900 | 140,000e |
| Tetrachloroethylene | 240 | ND | RI 8/86 | NA | 13.7b2 |
| Toluene | 350 | 23 | RI 8/86 | NA | 140,000 |
| Bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate | 39 | ND | RI 8/86 | NA | 50b2 |
| benzo(a)anthracene | 33 | ND | RI 8/86 | NA | 0.83b2 |
| chrysene | 108 | ND | RI 8/86 | NA | 27b2 |
| acenaphthylene | 44 | ND | RI 8/86 | NA | 42,000e |
| phenanthrene | 52 | ND | RI 8/86 | NA | 27* |
b1 - based on USEPA Reference Dose and incidental ingestion exposure pathways for a 70 kg adult ingesting 100 mg soil per day.
b2 - based on USEPA cancer potency and a one-in-one million risk level for a 70 kg adult ingesting 100 mg of soil per day.
c - comparison value derived by ATSDR for pica child ingesting 500 mg soil per day.
d - comparison value derived by ATSDR for child ingesting 200 mg soil per day.
e - comparison value derived by ATSDR for an adult ingesting 100 mg soil per day.
f - USEPA interim action level for lead.
g - Mean background concentration for Eastern U.S. (Shacklette, H.T., J.G. Boerngen, 1984)
* - CREG for phenanthrene is based on cancer potency for chrysene, a structurally similar compound.
| Contaminant | Max. Concentrations in groundwater (mg/l) | Sampling Datea | Reference | Comparison Value (mg/l) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Onsite wells | Offsite wells | ||||
| BEHP | RI/FS,1986 | ||||
| Chloroform | |||||
| Chrysene | |||||
| Methylene chloride | |||||
| Toluene | |||||
| Barium | |||||
| Beryllium | |||||
| Cadmium | |||||
| Copper | |||||
| Chromium | |||||
| Cyanide | |||||
| Lead | |||||
| Manganese | |||||
| Nickel | |||||
b1- CREG based on USEPA Carcinogenic Potency factor and 1X10-6 risk from ingestion of 2 L of water per day for a 70 kg adult.
b2 -EMEG based on USEPA Reference dose and intake by a 70 kg adult ingesting 2L of water per day.
c - comparison value derived by ATSDR for child ingesting 1 L of water per day.
d - comparison value derived by ATSDR for an adult ingesting 2 L of water per day.
e - USEPA Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL)
| Contaminant | Max. Conc. in Sediment | Max. Conc.in surface water | Reference | Comparison Value for sediments (mg/kg)a | Comparison Value for surface water (mg/l)b | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mg/kg | Sample Site | mg/l | Sample Site | ||||
| Arsenic | 52 | Dump | ND | RI/FS, 1986 | 18 | 0.0000022 | |
| Barium | 800 | Diggs/Dump | 0.41 | CCSC | RI/FS, 1986 | 232 | 0.114c |
| Beryllium | 3.8 | Dump | 0.0041 | Dump | RI/FS, 1986 | 1.6 | 0.0000039 |
| Cadmium | 81 | Diggs/Dump | 0.044 | Diggs/Dump | RI/FS, 1986 | 3.7 | 0.010 |
| Chromium | 90 | CCSC | 0.058 | CCSC | RI/FS, 1986 | 40 | 0.050 |
| Lead | 191 | Diggs/Dump | 0.080 | Diggs/Dump | RI/FS, 1986 | 41 | 0.050 |
| Magnesium | 4400 | Diggs/Dump | 177 | Diggs/Dump | RI/FS, 1986 | 2700 | 17c |
| Nickel | 737 | Diggs/Dump | 0.53 | Diggs/Dump | RI/FS, 1986 | 72 | 0.013 |
| Selenium | ND | ND | 0.038 | Diggs/Dump | RI/FS, 1986 | ND | 0.01 |
| BEHP | 0.19 | Backgd | 0.004 | Diggs/Dump | RI/FS, 1986 | 0.19 | 15 |
| Benzene | 0.005 | Diggs/Dump | ND | - | RI/FS, 1986 | ND | 0.00066 |
| Benzoic acid | 1.6 | Diggs/Dump | ND | - | RI/FS, 1986 | ND | NDc |
| Benzo(a)pyrene | 0.45 | Diggs/Dump | ND | - | RI/FS, 1986 | ND | 0.0000028 |
| Toluene | 0.005 | CCSC | ND | - | RI/FS, 1986 | ND | 14.3 |
| Trichloroethene | 0.005 | Diggs/Dump | ND | - | RI/FS, 1986 | ND | .0027 |
b - USEPA Ambient Water Quality Criterion protecting for human toxicity from ingesting surface water and organisms from the affected stream.
c - Because no Ambient Water Quality Criterion was available, the concentration given represents the "background" concentration detected upstream from the site.
| MEDIA | TIME | SOURCE | TRANSPORT MEDIA | EXPOSURE POINT | EXPOSURE PATH | EXPOSED POPULATION |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| On-site Surface Soil | Past Present | Dumping and landfilling operations | Surface Soil | On-site; nearby residences | Inhalation Ingestion Dermal contact | Workers; neighboring residents |
| Surface water and Sediment | Past Present | Dumping and land-filling operations | Surface soil; surface water runoff | branches of Potomac River and tributaries | Dermal contact Food chain | bathers, fishing enthusiasts, boaters |
| Groundwater | Past Present | Soil contamination | Infiltration through soil | Home drinking water wells | Ingestion Dermal contact and Inhalation while showering | Users of affected wells |
| Site | Maryland | Allegany County |
|---|---|---|
| Bronchus/Lung | 53 | 55 |
| Breast | 30 | 32 |
| Prostate | 27 | 25 |
| Cervix | 3 | 4 |
Reference: Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Division of Health Statistics,1983 - 1987 Age-adjusted Mortality Rates (Adjusted by the direct method to the total USpopulation, 1970)
GLOSSARY
adsorption: the penetration of a substance into another.
accuracy: the nearness of a result or the mean of a set of results to the true or accepted value.
aliphatic compounds: open-chain carbon compounds that are normally methane derivatives orfatty compounds.
analytical method: defines the sample preparation and instrumentation procedures or steps thatmust be performed to estimate the quantity of a chemical in a sample.
aquifer: a permeable rock stratum below the earth's surface through which groundwater moves; generally capable of producing water for a well.
aromatic compounds: compounds that contain a benzene ring.
bedrock: the continuous solid rock of the continental crust.
bioaccumulation: the process by which organisms retain chemical pollutants in their tissues atlevels greater than in the ambient environment. This term has the same meaning asbioconcentration.
biodegradation: the breaking down of a chemical compound into simpler chemical componentsunder naturally occurring biological processes.
biomagnification: the process whereby chemicals concentrate to a higher level in organisms atone level in a food chain than in those at the lower level in the food chain.
chronic toxicity: a prolonged health effect that may not become evident until many years afterexposure.
detection limit: the minimum concentrations that must be accurately and precisely measured bythe laboratory and/or specified in the quality assurance plan.
dose: the amount of a contaminant that is absorbed or deposited in the body of an exposedorganism for an increment of time. Total dose is the sum of doses received by a person from acontaminant in a given interval resulting from interaction with all environmental media thatcontain the contaminant. Units of dose and total dose (mass) are often converted to units ofmass per volume of physiological fluid or mass of tissue.
duplicates: identical splits of individual samples that are analyzed by the laboratory to test formethod reproducibility .
environmental media evaluation guidelines (EMEGs): the concentration of a chemical (givenin milligrams of chemical per unit mass (kg) or volume (l) of medium) that corresponds to anexposure level that is not expected to cause adverse health affects, assuming a given exposurescenario such as drinking 2 liters of water per day. EMEGs are used in the public healthassessment process to identify contaminants of concern.
erosion: (1) the wearing away of the land surface by running water, wind, ice, or othergeological agents including gravity. (2) detachment and movement of soil or rock by water,wind, ice or gravity.
exposure (biology): an event that occurs when there is contact between a human being and theenvironment with a contaminant of a specific concentration for an interval of time; the units ofexposure are concentration multiplied by time.
field blanks: blanks are collected and analyzed to determine the level of contaminationintroduced into the sample because of the sampling technique. They may consist of the sourceof water used in decontaminating and steam cleaning the equipment. At a minimum, one samplefrom each event and each source of water must be collected and analyzed.
food chain: the transfer of food energy from the source (in plants) through a series oforganisms that successfully depend on each other for food.
fume: solid particles generated by condensation from the gaseous state, generally aftervolatilization from a molten state. Formation is often accompanied by oxidation or otherchemical reactions.
gas: formless fluids that can be changed to the liquid or solid state by increased pressure anddecreased temperature.
genetic toxicity: an adverse event resulting in damage to genetic material; damage may occurin exposed individuals or may be expressed in subsequent generations.
groundwater: water beneath the surface of the ground in a saturated zone.
hydrologic cycle: the complete cycle of phenomena through which water passes from theatmosphere to the earth and back into the atmosphere.
hydrology: the science encompassing the behavior of water as it occurs in the atmosphere, onthe land surface, and underground.
instrument detection limit: the lowest concentration an analytical device is capable ofmeasuring with a minimum degree of accuracy.
leaching: the continued removal, by water, of soluble matter from wastes, regolith or bedrock.
limestone: a sedimentary rock consisting mainly of the mineral calcite.
matrix: the predominant material comprising the sample to be analyzed. The most commonmatrices are water, soil/sediment, and sludge.
minimal risk level (MRL): an estimate of human daily exposure to a chemical (reported inmilligrams of chemical per kilogram of body weight per day) that is likely to be without anappreciable risk of deleterious effects (noncarcinogenic) over a specified duration of exposure. MRL's are based on human and animal studies and are reported for acute (less than 14 days),intermediate (15-364 days), and chronic (more than 365 days) exposures. MRLs are publishedin ATSDR Toxicological Profiles for specific chemicals.
mutagenic: compounds with the ability to induce stable changes in genetic material.
oxidation: the process of removing one or more electrons from an ion, atom or molecule.
particulate: small, discrete, solid or liquid bodies, especially those suspended in a liquid orgaseous medium.
partitioning: the separation or division of a substance into two or more compartments. Environmental partitioning refers to the distribution of a chemical into environmental media(soil, air, water and biota).
parts per million (ppm): a common unit for reporting the concentration of a chemical in aspecific medium. For example, in water, one part per million equals one pound of a chemicalper million pounds of water.
percolation: movement of contaminants from soil to groundwater occurring primarily bydissolution and transport with percolating soil water. Percolation is the volumetric flux per unitarea of soil.
permeability: (1) the ease with which gases, liquids, or plant roots penetrate or pass through abulk mass of soil or a layer of soil; (2) the property of a porous medium relating to the ease withwhich gases, liquids, or other substances can pass through it; the capacity of rock orunconsolidated material to transmit a fluid.
pH: an expression of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution. It represents the minus base 10logarithm of the concentration of free hydrogen ions. The range of possible pH values is 1 (mostacidic) to 14 (most alkaline or basic). The value of 7 represents neutrality.
photodegradation: the chemical breakdown of molecules caused by radiant energy.
porosity: the proportion, usually stated as a percentage, of the total volume of rock material orregolith that consists of pore space or voids; the volume percentage of the total soil volume notoccupied by solid particles (i.e., the volume of the voids). In general, the greater the porosity,the more readily fluids may flow through the soil. An exception is clay soils, in which fluids areheld tightly by capillary forces.
potable: drinkable water.
precision: measure of the reproducibility of a set of replicate results among themselves or theagreement among repeat observations made under the same conditions.
quality assurance: a planned system of activities (program) whose purpose is to provideassurance of the reliability and defensibility of the data.
quality control: a routine application of procedures for controlling the monitoring process. Quality control is the responsibility of all those performing hands-on operations in the field andin the laboratory.
reagent water: water in which an analyte is not observed at or above the minimum quantitationlimit of the parameters of interest.
reference dose (RfD): an estimate (uncertainty spanning perhaps an order of magnitude) of adaily human exposure expressed as milligrams of chemical per kilogram of human body weightper day, that is likely to be without an appreciable risk of deleterious effects during a lifetimeexposure (chronic RfD) or exposure during a limited time interval (subchronic RfD).
regolith: the blanket, consisting of loose, non-cemented rock particles and mineral grains, thatcommonly overlies bedrock.
representativeness: expresses the degree to which sample data accurately and preciselyrepresent a characteristic population, parameter variations at a sampling point, or anenvironmental condition. Representativeness is a qualitative parameter that is most concernedwith the proper design of the sampling program.
saturated zone: that part of the water-bearing material in which all voids, large and small, arefilled with water.
semivolatile compounds: compounds amenable to analysis by extraction of the ample with anorganic solvent, Has the same meaning as the terms "base neutral" or "acid extractable".
sludge: any solid, semi-solid, or liquid waste generated from a municipal, commercial orindustrial waste water treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution controlfacility.
vapor: a substance in the gaseous state as distinguished from the liquid or solid state; thevolatile form of substances normally in the liquid or solid state at normal temperature andpressure.
vapor pressure: the pressure exerted by a vapor, either by itself or in a mixture of gases; oftentaken to mean saturated vapor pressure, which is the pressure of a vapor in contact with its liquidform.
volatile: a chemical that rapidly evaporates.
volatilization: the conversion of a liquid or solid into vapor.
water table: the upper surface of the zone of saturation where the water pressure is equal toatmospheric pressure.
