Edwards Air Base Dispute Pits California Against EPA on Vapor Intrusion Standards

摘要

An ongoing dispute about the toxicity standards to be used to address indoor air pollution caused by vapor intrusion from contaminated groundwater at Edwards Air Force Base could have implications for future conflicts between state and federal contamination standards. The dispute, which began in August 2014, was detailed at a public meeting in Kern County, Calif., March 5. The conflict centers on which toxicity levels for the inhalation of perchloroethylene (known as PCE or perc) should guide the cleanup of contaminated sites on the 308,000-acre base. There are two possible PCE standards: one issued by the EPA's Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) in 2012 and another issued by California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) in 1991.