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Development of metrics for screening for chemical storage near drinking water sources
Citation:
Lowe, C. AND K. Isaacs. Development of metrics for screening for chemical storage near drinking water sources. 2019 American Chemical Society Fall Meeting, San Diego, CA, August 25 - 29, 2019.
Impact/Purpose:
Chemical prioritization is EPA’s first step in the evaluation of existing chemicals under the amended Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The TSCA procedures for the screening review of chemicals for priority designation require EPA to consider reasonably available information to evaluate substances via several criteria, including storage of the chemical substance near significant sources of drinking water. Here we describe the development of ranking metrics for chemical substances for consideration for use in screening against this drinking water storage criteria.
Description:
Chemical prioritization is EPA’s first step in the evaluation of existing chemicals under the amended Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The TSCA procedures for the screening review of chemicals for priority designation require EPA to consider reasonably available information to evaluate substances via several criteria, including storage of the chemical substance near significant sources of drinking water. Here we describe the development of ranking metrics for chemical substances for consideration for use in screening against this drinking water storage criteria. The metrics integrate available geospatial data related to industrial chemical use and importation, drinking water facility location, and population. EPA monitors TSCA chemicals produced in volumes of 25,000 lbs or more (2,500 lbs for certain chemicals) at production sites. For 2012, there were 7970 TSCA chemicals reported in EPA’s Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) system for 4305 sites; with 53% reporting quantitative use or import volumes. Geospatial data from the Facility Reporting Service (FRS) was used to map each chemical facility (and its associated chemical volumes) to the closest individual drinking water system that would be affected by a potential leak. The water system locations and populations served were obtained from the EPA’s Federal Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS/FED). Multiple quantitative metrics for chemical ranking were estimated based on reported volumes or volumes inferred from total U.S. production volumes. These metrics will be further evaluated for potential incorporation into chemical workflows being developed by the EPA’s Office and Research and Development. This abstract does not reflect EPA policy.
