Impact/Purpose:

This project intends to develop practical methods for predicting the potential risk from chemical manufacturing and use. The initial phase of this effort will provide a comparison of several existing risk assessment methods for different application scenarios: (1) Pollution Prevention (P2) Assessment Framework stage I risk analysis method, (2) Toxicity-based method, (3) Toxicity/Persistence Index, (4) Partitioning Persistence/Toxicity Index, and (5) Concentration/Toxicity method. This comparison will illustrate the influence of simplifications of transport and exposure estimation on risk prediction. Ultimately, a model that considers emission rates, toxicity, and more realistic attenuation mechanisms of chemicals will be developed to evaluate the environmental performance of process alternatives.

This project intends to develop practical methods for predicting the potential risk from chemical manufacturing and use. The initial phase of this effort will provide a comparison of several existing risk assessment methods for different application scenarios: (1) Pollution Prevention (P2) Assessment Framework stage I risk analysis method, (2) Toxicity-based method, (3) Toxicity/Persistence Index, (4) Partitioning Persistence/Toxicity Index, and (5) Concentration/Toxicity method. This comparison will illustrate the influence of simplifications of transport and exposure estimation on risk prediction. Ultimately, a model that considers emission rates, toxicity, and more realistic attenuation mechanisms of chemicals will be developed to evaluate the environmental performance of process alternatives.

Description:

Chemical production, use and disposal cause adverse impacts on the environment. Consequently, much research has been conducted to develop methods for estimating the risk of chemicals and to screen them based on environmental impact. Risk assessment may be subdivided into two categories: environmental fate and exposure assessment, and adverse effect assessment. It is difficult to estimate the exposure level using complex fate and exposure models because many input parameters are not known. Due to the lack of reliable data and estimation techniques for determining input parameters, past research efforts in the field of risk assessment incorporate simplifying assumptions into the fate and exposure assessment that can result in poor decisions, even wrong decisions.

This project is expected to seek a middle ground to evaluate risks for chemical production and use. It will provide industry with environmental impact information. This knowledge will be applied in the conceptual design phase such that not only economic and safety factors are considered, but also environmental factors. This project will help the government to evaluate the environmental performance of high-production-volume (HPV) chemicals and their manufacturing pathways not only based on the total release, but also their adverse effects.

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The approach in this project is to compare several existing risk assessment methods and to develop a software design tool that requires minimal user input. The methods will be compared in the manufacture and use of chemicals. The Chemical Industry Planning System (CIPS) will be used to identify a number of production facility options. CIPS is a database developed by CenCITT investigators to link hydrocarbon feedstock to end products through industrially proven chemical technologies. The software package will consist of a multimedia environmental fate model and a risk index calculator. A sensitivity analysis for the fate model will be conducted to determine the dominant attenuation mechanisms and the important parameters to simplify the fate equations and direct future work in parameter estimation.

The risk-related information obtained by the EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) Pollution Prevention (P2) Assessment Framework is used to conduct stage I risk analysis for chemicals of concern. The P2 Framework also provides risk related information for other methods. Toxicity-based method, Toxicity/Persistence method, Partitioning Persistence/Toxicity Index (PPTI) and the Concentration/Toxicity method have been compared for solvent selection, reaction pathway selection, and risk evaluation among facilities and industries. This comparison demonstrates that ignoring or simplifying transport and exposure estimation will result in decreasing reliability of risk assessment.

The multimedia environmental fate model to be developed consists of main compartments and considers important attenuation mechanisms. The magnitude of the risks is expressed as the equal risk release of a reference chemical for different environmental impact categories. Under standard exposure scenario, the ratio of exposure level is equal to the ratio of the ambient concentration of th

Cost :$.00

Research Component :Center for Clean Industrial and Treatment Technologies (CenCITT)

Approach :

The approach in this project is to compare several existing risk assessment methods and to develop a software design tool that requires minimal user input. The methods will be compared in the manufacture and use of chemicals. The Chemical Industry Planning System (CIPS) will be used to identify a number of production facility options. CIPS is a database developed by CenCITT investigators to link hydrocarbon feedstock to end products through industrially proven chemical technologies. The software package will consist of a multimedia environmental fate model and a risk index calculator. A sensitivity analysis for the fate model will be conducted to determine the dominant attenuation mechanisms and the important parameters to simplify the fate equations and direct future work in parameter estimation.

The risk-related information obtained by the EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) Pollution Prevention (P2) Assessment Framework is used to conduct stage I risk analysis for chemicals of concern. The P2 Framework also provides risk related information for other methods. Toxicity-based method, Toxicity/Persistence method, Partitioning Persistence/Toxicity Index (PPTI) and the Concentration/Toxicity method have been compared for solvent selection, reaction pathway selection, and risk evaluation among facilities and industries. This comparison demonstrates that ignoring or simplifying transport and exposure estimation will result in decreasing reliability of risk assessment.

The multimedia environmental fate model to be developed consists of main compartments and considers important attenuation mechanisms. The magnitude of the risks is expressed as the equal risk release of a reference chemical for different environmental impact categories. Under standard exposure scenario, the ratio of exposure level is equal to the ratio of the ambient concentration of th

Cost :$.00

Research Component :Targeted Research

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