An evaluation of human health risk-based screening methodologies for the prioritizing of combustion air toxics used in risk assessment.

摘要

The objective of this investigation was to evaluate a number of human health risk-based screening methodologies for the prioritization of combustion air toxics and to identify any inconsistencies between methodologies when applied not only to one industrial combustion source but also to different industrial sources in Alberta with contrasting combustion air toxics emission profiles. For this investigation the following five screening methodologies were compared: toxicity equivalency potential; threshold of regulation; risk screening environmental indicator; total petroleum hydrocarbon; and, bioaccumulation potential screening. Of the five screening methods evaluated, no single screening approach was found to be without limitations. The five screening methods evaluated in this assessment clearly do not effectively consider both toxicity and exposure and therefore are not recommended for use in isolation. It is recommended that a more holistic screening method that incorporates information based on both toxicity and exposure in the prioritization process be developed.