Environmental assessments on schools located on or near former industrial facilities: Feedback on attenuation factors for the prediction of indoor air quality

Derycke, Virginie; Coftier, Aline; Zornig, Clément; Leprond, Hubert; Scamps, Mathilde; Gilbert, Dominique

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.01.118

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Fifty‐two percent of the data are for residential buildings with most residential data originating from the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Derycke et al (2018) compiled a VI database containing data for 51 schools from 38 towns in France. Their database contains 5042 paired measurements.…”

Section: Comparison Of Results To Existing Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Empirically Derived California Vapor Intrusion Attenuation Factors

Abbasi¹,

Bosan²,

Gallagher³

2023

Groundwater Monitoring Rem

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The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) gathered empirical data from sites contaminated with chlorinated volatile organic compounds and generated a vapor intrusion database. The database includes 52 sites across California with 213 buildings, of which, 53% are residential, and 47% are commercial/industrial (nonresidential). DTSC's objective is to improve its knowledge and understanding of vapor intrusion and derive empirical attenuation factors that are representative of the climatic conditions and types of buildings commonly found in the state. Filtering was applied to remove data of suspect quality that were potentially affected by background sources. After filtering to 600 pairs from 32 sites across California, a subslab attenuation factor (AF) was calculated yielding a 95th percentile of 0.005. After filtering to 2926 paired measurements from 39 sites across California, a soil vapor AF was calculated yielding a 95th percentile of 0.0009. The groundwater data was not analyzed due to the small size of the dataset. The AFs from this study are similar to AFs in a California‐specific study by Lahvis and Ettinger (2021). Accordingly, converging lines of evidence suggest that vapor attenuation in California is different from what is observed nationwide by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), where an AF of 0.03 was empirically derived and later recommended for initial screening of buildings for potential vapor intrusion exposure (USEPA, 2015).

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Section: Comparison Of Results To Existing Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Empirically Derived California Vapor Intrusion Attenuation Factors

Abbasi¹,

Bosan²,

Gallagher³

2023

Groundwater Monitoring Rem

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…These single measurement empirical AFs exhibit high variability that results in overconservative upper-bound screening; ,− empirical AFs using spatially and temporally averaged VOC concentrations would be more representative of long-term vapor attenuation. Third, empirical AFs measured at single-family residences are not representative of attenuation for other types of buildings . Finally, screening AFs do not account for other site-specific factors that can affect VOC attenuation such as biodegradation (see section 2.2.1) or fine-grained soil layers (see section 2.2.3).…”

Section: Vapor Intrusion Pathway Screeningmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Third, empirical AFs measured at single-family residences are not representative of attenuation for other types of buildings. 101 Finally, screening AFs do not account for other site-specific factors that can affect VOC attenuation such as biodegradation (see section 2.2.1) or finegrained soil layers (see section 2.2.3). Data gaps associated with the development of refined screening AFs are discussed in section 6.…”

Section: Vapor Intrusion Pathway Screeningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vapor Intrusion Investigations and Decision-Making: A Critical Review

McHugh

Beckley

et al. 2020

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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At sites impacted by volatile organic compounds (VOCs), vapor intrusion (VI) is the pathway with the greatest potential to result in actual human exposure. Since sites with VI were first widely publicized in late 1990s, the scientific understanding of VI has evolved considerably. The VI conceptual model has been extended beyond relatively simple scenarios to include nuances, such as biological and hydrogeological factors that may limit the potential for VI and alternative pathways, such as preferential pathways and direct building contact/infiltration that may enhance VI in some cases. Regulatory guidance documents typically recommend initial concentration-or distance-based screening to evaluate whether VI may be a concern, followed by a multiple-lines-of-evidence (MLE) investigation approach for sites that do not screen out. These recommendations for detailed evaluation of VI currently focus on monitoring of VOC concentrations in groundwater, soil gas, and indoor air and can be supplemented by other lines of evidence. In this Critical Review, we summarize key elements important to VI site characterization, provide the status and current understanding, and highlight data interpretation challenges, as well as innovative tools developed to help overcome the challenges. Although there have been significant advances in the understanding of VI in the past 20 years, limitations and knowledge gaps in screening, investigation methods, and modeling approaches still exist. Potential areas for further research include improved initial screening methods that account for the site-specific role of barriers, improved understanding of preferential pathways, and systematic study of buildings and infrastructure other than single-family residences.

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