Exposure and risk assessment of toxic waste in a multimedia context. [GEOTEX]

This paper describes a multimedia compartment model, called GEOTOX, that was developed to screen hazardous chemical residuals that are produced by the destruction of waste military ordnance. This model simulates the transport and transformation of trace elements, radionuclides, and organic chemicals in a system consisting of eight compartments. GEOTOX uses landscape properties and chemical properties to determine how a given substance partitions among the environmental compartments. The resulting environmental concentrations are combined with exposure models and health-effects data to estimate potential health risks. This approach can be used to evaluate the waste residuals from a number of industrial technologies.