Citation

Laman DM, Weiler BD, Skeen RS. Environ. Monit. Assess. 2013; 185(3): 2257-2267.

Affiliation

Department of Science and Engineering, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Nixyáawii Governance Center 46411 Timíne Way, Pendleton, OR, 97801, USA, DavidLaman@ctuir.org.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s10661-012-2706-x

PMID

22773143

Abstract

Organic emissions from a chemical weapons incinerator have been characterized with an improved set of analytical methods to reduce the human health risk assigned to operations of the facility. A gas chromatography/mass selective detection method with substantially reduced detection limits has been used in conjunction with scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry and Fourier transform infrared microscopy to improve the speciation of semi-volatile and non-volatile organics emitted from the incinerator. The reduced detection limits have allowed a significant reduction in the assumed polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) and aminobiphenyl (ABP) emission rates used as inputs to the human health risk assessment for the incinerator. A mean factor of 17 decrease in assigned human health risk is realized for six common local exposure scenarios as a result of the reduced PAH and ABP detection limits.

Language: en