Spotlight on Risk Based Remediation

Langan was retained to complete a human health risk assessment (HHRA) for a multi-acre site located in southern California. Prior to Langan’s involvement, several HHRAs had been completed to assess the nature and extent of potential human health risks associated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), mercury, and other site-related contaminants of concern (COCs).

Langan completed a forward-looking cumulative HHRA in order to estimate risk and hazards following a proposed remedial action. Post-remediation, a final HHRA was submitted to document that site cleanup objectives were met. To harmonize the ecological and human health risk assessments, the ecologically-based preliminary cleanup goals were evaluated to determine their health-protectiveness for human receptors. The site-specific assessment strategy resulted in findings that ecologically-driven remedial activities at the site sufficiently mitigated the risk associated with human exposure to COCs.