A Preliminary Study for Chemical Ranking System in Terms of Soil and Groundwater Contamination by Chemical Accidents

Abstract:

A variety of chemicals could affect human health and ecosystems by chemical accidents such as fire, explosion, and/or spill. Chemical accidents make chemicals spread to the environment via various routes such as dispersion into ambient air, soil, and surface/ground water media. Especially, soil and groundwater contamination by chemical accidents become a secondary source to have a long term effect on human health and environment. Strength of long term effect by soil and groundwater contamination depends largely on inherent characteristics of a chemical and its fate in soil and groundwater. Therefore, in this study, we developed a framework on how to determine what kind of chemicals is more important in management scheme in terms of soil and groundwater contamination during chemical accidents. We ranked approximately fifty chemicals using this framework which takes into account an exposure into soil and groundwater, toxicity, persistence, and bioaccumulation of a chemical. This framework helps to prepare systematically the management plan for chemical related facilities. Furthermore, results from our study can make a policy maker have interests in highly ranked chemicals and facilities.