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MULTIMEDIA ENVIRONMENTAL DISTRIBUTION OF TOXICS (MEND-TOX): PART II, SOFTWARE IMPLEMENTATION AND CASE STUDIES
Citation:
Cohen, Y. AND E J. Cooter. MULTIMEDIA ENVIRONMENTAL DISTRIBUTION OF TOXICS (MEND-TOX): PART II, SOFTWARE IMPLEMENTATION AND CASE STUDIES. LABORATORY AND ANIMAL INVESTIGATIONS 6(2):87-101, (2002).
Impact/Purpose:
This task has the following objectives:
Improve modelers' ability to focus on scientific and policy issues in modeling studies by providing software that supports composing, applying, and evaluating complex systems of models.
Improve the understanding of the interaction of the atmosphere and the underlying surface, especially the flux of mass in both directions, and EPA's ability to simulate that interaction.
Contribute to multimedia studies and assessments by applying state-of-the-art atmospheric models, estimating atmospheric contributions to multimedia issues and the sources of those contributions, and evaluating the models' strengths and weaknesses.
Description:
An integrated hybrid spatial-compartmental simulator is presented for analyzing the dynamic distribution of chemicals in the multimedia environment. Information obtained from such analysis, which includes temporal chemical concentration profiles in various media, mass distribution and intermedia chemical mass fluxes can be used for subsequent exposure and risk analyses. The software architecture of the environmental simulator for multimedia environmental distribution of toxics (Mend-Tox) system is presented with emphasis on features that allow for rapid scenario design and analysis of dynamic chemical partitioning in the environment. The model structure is described in a companion paper (Part I). The modular structure of the system provides for flexibility of model design, implementation of a rich selection of simulation scenarios, maintenance and reusability of model components and ease of future improvements. The applicability of Mend-Tox is illustrated for the distribution of PAHs and their nitro-PAH daughter products in the Los Angeles Basin, a retrospective analysis of PCBs in Lake Michigan, and the partitioning behavior of selected volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The level of predictive multimedia analysis represented by these examples yield very reasonable agreement with reported measurements.