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Soil Background and Risk Assessment

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About ITRC
1 Introduction
1 Introduction
1.1 Audience
1.2 Purpose
1.3 Use of Background in the Risk Assessment Process
1.4 Limitations
2 Soil Background Definition 
2 Soil Background Definition
2.1 Natural Soil Background
2.2 Anthropogenic Ambient Soil Background
2.3 Additional Background Definitions
3 Establishing Soil Background
3 Establishing Soil Background
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Conducting a Soil Background Study
3.3 Choosing an Area for a Soil Background Study
3.4 Sampling
3.5 Laboratory Analysis
3.6 Using an Existing Soil Background Study
3.7 Background Dataset Analysis
3.8 Establishing Default or Site-Specific Soil Background
3.9 Extracting Site-Specific Background Dataset from an On-site Dataset
4 Using Soil Background in Risk Assessment
4 Using Soil Background in Risk Assessment
4.1 Representative Site Concentration to Compare to a BTV
4.2 Using Default Background
4.3 Using Site-Specific Background
4.4 Use of Background for Remedial Goals
4.5 Additional Considerations
5 Geochemical Evaluations
5 Geochemical Evaluations
5.1 Geochemistry Is Not Statistics
5.2 Uses of Geochemical Evaluations
5.3 General Methodology
5.4 Nondetects
5.5 Key Geochemical Processes
5.6 Extracting Background Data from Existing Data
6 Using Geochemical Evaluations in Risk Assessment
6 Using Geochemical Evaluations in Risk Assessment
6.1 Using Geochemical Evaluations During COPC Selection
6.2 Using Geochemical Evaluations During Risk Characterization
6.3 Considerations
7 Environmental Forensics Related to soil Background
7 Environmental Forensics Related to soil Background
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
7.3 Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH)
7.4 Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)
7.5 Polychlorinated Dibenzo-p-Dioxins and Dibenzofurans (PCDD/F)
7.6 Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)
7.7 Remote Sensing
8 Conceptual Site Model and Data Quality Objectives
8 Conceptual Site Model and Data Quality Objectives
8.1 Conceptual Site Model
8.2 Data Quality Objectives
9 Sampling
9 Sampling
9.1 Background Reference Areas
9.2 Sample Depth
9.3 Sample Size
9.4 Sample Methods
9.5 Sampling Design
9.6 Sample Collection Methods
9.7 Sample Handling
10 Analytical Methods
10 Analytical Methods
10.1 Introduction
10.2 Obtaining Reliable Analytical Data
10.3 Analytical Limits
10.4 Sample Preparation
10.5 Analytical Test Methods
11 Statistics
11 Statistics
11.1 Data Requirements
11.2 Data Distribution
11.3 Treatment of Nondetects
11.4 Graphical displays
11.5 Outliers
11.6 Confidence Interval Limit, Coefficient, and Limit
11.7 Statistical Values Used to Represent Background
11.8 Statistical Tests to Compare Site and Background Datasets
11.9 Statistical Software
12 Regulatory Framework from State Survey
12 Regulatory Framework from State Survey
12.1 Description of State Survey
12.2 Overview of State Survey Results
12.3 State Survey Results
13 Existing Guidance and Studies
14 Case Studies
14 Case Studies
14.1 Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) Soil Background Case Study
14.2 Former Firearms Training Range Soil Background Case Study
14.3 Region 4 RARE Urban Background Study
14.4 Geochemical Evaluation Case Study—Statistical Outlier is an Uncontaminated Soil Sample
14.5 Geochemical Evaluation Case Study—Statistical Outlier Is a Contaminated Soil Sample
14.6 Geochemical Evaluation Case Study–Contaminated Soil Sample Is Not a Statistical Outlier
14.7 Environmental Forensics Case Study—PAHs from Leaked Petroleum Versus Contaminated Fill
Frameworks
Frameworks
Framework 1
Framework 2
Framework 3
Appendices
Appendix A. Upper Limits Used to Estimate Background Threshold Values
Appendix B. Index Plots
Appendix C. Additional Sources of Information for PAHs in Soil
Additional Information
Team Contacts
Glossary
Acronyms
Acknowledgments
References
ITRC & EJ/DEI
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Soil Background and Risk Assessment
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Appendix F. Acronyms

AES

AFFF

AOC

ATV

BOC

BP

CERCLA

CMB

COPC

CRAN

CSM

CVAA

DL

DQO

DU

ECR

EPC

FID

FSAP

GC/ECD

GC/FID

GC/MS

GIS

HI

HQ

HRGC/HRMS

ICP

ICP/AES

ICP/MS

IELCR

ISM

ISO

KM

LOC

LOD

MDL

MLE

MPCA

MS

ND

NELAC

NOM

OCP

OSWER

PAH

PCA

PCB

PCDD

PCDD/F

PCDF

PMF

QA

QA/QC

QAPP

QC

QL

RARE

RCRA

RL

ROS

RSL

SAP

SBR

SIM

SRV

SU

TCDD

TEF

TEQ

TPH

UCL

UPL

USEPA

USGS

USL

UTL

VOC

VSP

XRF

atomic emission spectroscopy 

aqueous film forming foam 

area of concern 

all-terrain vehicle

biogenic organic compounds 

breakpoint 

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act 

chemical mass balance 

chemicals of potential concern 

Comprehensive R Archive Network 

conceptual site model  

cold vapor atomic absorption 

detection limit 

data quality objectives 

decision units 

excess lifetime cancer risk 

exposure point concentration  

flame ionization detection  

field sampling and analysis plan 

gas chromatography/electron capture detector  

gas chromatography/flame ionization detector 

gas chromatography/mass spectrometry 

geographic information system 

hazard index 

hazard quotient 

high-resolution gas chromatography/high-resolution mass spectrometry  

inductively coupled plasma 

inductively coupled plasma/atomic emission spectroscopy 

inductively coupled plasma/mass spectrometry 

incremental excess lifetime cancer risk 

incremental sampling methodology 

International Organization for Standardization 

Kaplan-Meier method 

levels of chlorination 

limit of detection 

method detection limit 

maximum likelihood estimation 

Minnesota Pollution Control Agency 

mass spectrometry 

nondetect 

National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Conference 

naturally occurring materials 

organochlorine pesticides 

Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response 

polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons 

principal component analysis 

polychlorinated biphenyls 

polychlorinated dibenzodioxins  

polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans  

polychlorinated dibenzofurans 

positive matrix factorization 

quality assurance 

quality assurance/quality control 

quality assurance project plan 

quality control 

quantitation limit 

Regional Applied Research Efforts 

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act 

reporting limit 

regression on order statistics 

regional screening level 

sampling and analytical plan 

soil background and risk assessment 

selected ion monitoring 

soil reference values 

sampling units 

total tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin 

toxicity equivalency factor 

toxicity equivalent 

total petroleum hydrocarbons 

upper confidence limit 

upper prediction limit 

United States Environmental Protection Agency 

United States Geological Survey 

upper simultaneous limit 

upper tolerance limit 

volatile organic compound 

Visual Sample Plan 

x-ray fluorescence

 

  

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