Evaluating and Integrating Cumulative Environmental Impacts in Superfund Human Health Risk Assessments 

Superfund uses a risk-based decision framework to assess and manage human exposure to a release and the threat of a release in the environment from pollutants and contaminants. The risk assessment process quantifies the baseline risk from route of exposure (e.g., inhalation, ingestion, etc.) and the toxicity (e.g., cancer and noncancer). Furthermore, when information such as toxicity is not available, the risk assessment may provide a qualitative assessment to inform the risk manager towards a protective remedy. An important aspect is identifying at-risk populations that may be more susceptible to adverse health outcomes due to their vulnerability and sensitivity (e.g., children). However, Superfund has not issued national guidance on how to incorporate or consider concurrent exposure to factors such as psychosocial stress, racial/minority status, low-income and food insecurity, which have been shown to modify risks from chemical releases for at-risk communities. Executive Order 12898 requires EPA to identify and address, as appropriate, disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects of its programs, policies and activity on minority and low-income populations to the greatest extent possible. This webinar will provide an overview of the following topics: superfund risk assessment, chemical stressors, non-chemical stressors, Environmental Justice, screening tools, and superfund site case studies.  

Michele Burgess, U.S. EPA, Office of Land and Emergency Management (OLEM), Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation (OSRTI) (Burgess.Michele@epa.gov or 202-566-1061)
Dr. Michele Burgess has over 25 years of experience in human health risk assessment at the state and federal level. She has a B.S. in Chemistry from Auburn University and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Georgia State University and was a post-doctoral fellow at Emory University before becoming a state and eventually a federal employee.  Dr. Burgess has experience in emergency response as well as long - term remedial actions.
Dr. Burgess has led many initiatives in the human health risk assessment and participated or led the development of regulatory guidance for human health risk assessment.

Davis Recht, Virtual Student Federal Service Internship Program, U.S. EPA; Vanderbilt University & Yale's School of the Environment 
Davis works as a Virtual Student Federal Service Intern for the U.S. EPA's Office of Land and Emergency Management. Davis holds a Bachelor's of Arts in Public Policy Studies with a concentration in Environmental and Energy Policy and Climate Studies from Vanderbilt University, and is currently pursuing a Master's of Environmental Management with a concentration in Business and the Environment at Yale's School of the Environment.

Mytam Le, Virtual Student Federal Service internship Program, U.S. EPA; California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Mytam is an incoming third year at Cal Poly for environmental engineering with a minor in ethnic studies. With her cross-disciplinary studies, she hopes to pursue a career uplifting marginalized communities impacted by environmental injustices, focusing on public health.

Moderator:

Renan Havill, U.S. EPA Technology Innovation and Field Services Division (havill.renan@epa.gov or 703-615-7735)
Renan works in the Technology Integration and Information Branch of the Technology Innovation and Field Services Division at EPA Headquarters. He supports the CERCLA Education Center and Clean Up Information Network webinars where institutional knowledge is preserved and new clean up technology is disseminated. He leads webinar series that inform regional Superfund staff of EPA Headquarters resources and manages collaborative tools developed. Renan holds a Bachelor's of Science in Environmental Science from Indiana University and a Master's of Science in Biomedical Engineering from George Washington University. He worked as a supervisory laboratory technician in a medical diagnostics lab prior to joining the EPA.

• Slide Presentation for SF-HHRA (8.30MB/PDF)

Webinar Slides and References:

• Slide Presentation for SF-HHRA (8.30MB/PDF)

Additional Resources:

• References
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. "Framework for Cumulative Risk Assessment." May 2003
• Michelsen, Teresa. "Superfund on Tribal Lands: Issues, Challenges, and Solutions." September 2010
• Stephens, Crystal, et al. "Disparities in Healthcare Utilization: Superfund Site vs. Neighboring Comparison Site." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, July 28 2022, 19(15)
• Needleman, Herbert L. et al. "The Long-Term Effects of Exposure to Low Doses of Lead in Childhood - An 11-Year Follow-up Report." The New England Journal of Medicine, vol. 322, no. 2, January 11, 1980
• "Why is asbestos dangerous?". Health Effects, Minnesota Dept of Health, 30, October 2023
• "Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)". Cancer in Illinois, Illinois Department of Public Health
• Li, Yan and Yan, Bo. "Human health risk assessment and distribution of VOCs in a chemical site, Weinan, China" Open Chemistry, vol. 20, no. 1, 2022, pp. 192-203
• "Health Impacts from Radon". NC Department of Health and Human Services
• Gong, Yi et al. "A systematic review of the relationship between objective measurements of the urban environment and psychological distress." Environment International, November 2016, vol. 96, 48-57
• "The Negative Impacts". Center of Health and Environmental, 28 June, 2018
• Villarosa, Linda "Pollution Is Killing Black Americans. This Community Fought Back". New York Times, 28 July, 2020
• Case Studies
• B.F. Goodrich Superfund Site Profile
• 35th Avenue Superfund Site Profile
• Santa Maria Valley
• Select Federal Cumulative Impact Tools
• EJScreen
• CEJST
• DOT:Transportation Disadvantaged Census Tracts
• DOE:Energy Justice Dashboard
• ATSDR/CDC:EJ Index
• NOAA:EJ Tools and Resources
• U.S. Climate Vulnerability Index
• Mapping Native Land
• State & Local Cumulative Impact Tools
  • Chesapeake Bay EJ & Equity Dashboard
  • Houston-Galveston-Brazoria (HGB) EnviroScreen
  • Seattle Climate Challenges Atlas

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 July 23, 2024: Evaluating and Integrating Cumulative Environmental Impacts in Superfund Human Health Risk Assessments 

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It is EPA's policy to make reasonable accommodation to persons with disabilities wishing to participate in the agency's programs and activities, pursuant to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. 791. Any request for accommodation should be made to at or , preferably one week or more in advance of the webinar, so that EPA will have sufficient time to process the request. EPA would welcome specific recommendations from requestors specifying the nature or type of accommodation needed. EPA welcomes specific recommendations from requestors specifying the nature or type of accommodation needed. Please note that CLU-IN provides both alternate phone call-in options and closed captioning for all webinars, and requests for these specific accommodations are not necessary.

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