Estimating outdoor and indoor dust lead levels from accidental bridge repair containment releases

A 1998 New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) environmental impact statement (EIS) evaluated the proposed removal of deteriorated lead paint from NYCDOT-owned bridges. The EIS health risk assessment quantified the potential impact of particulate releases on blood lead levels among members of the public living and working near affected bridges. The risk assessment consisted of a fate and transport component and an exposure-dose component. The fate and transport component, modeled using the EPA's Industrial Source Complex (ISC3) model, calculated the impact of paint removal activities on ambient air lead concentrations and dust lead deposition rates. The exposure-dose component, modeled using EPA's Integrated Exposure Uptake Biokinetic (IEUBK) model, the Bowers et al. Adult Lead model, and the O'Flaherty lead model, calculated the impact of additional lead in air, street dust, interior house dust, and soil on blood lead levels, a conventional measure of body lead burden. The analysis was complicated because the ISC3 model provides a dust lead deposition rate ({micro}g/m{sup 2}-day), while the IEUBK, Bowers et al., and O'Flaherty models demand as input specification of dust lead concentrations ({micro}g lead per g dust). This paper describes a model developed for the EIS that quantifies long term average dust leadmore » concentrations associated with typical bridge containment releases, and short term dust lead concentration spikes following worst case release events associated with bridge repair containment structure failures. The model reflects the influence of both lead and other debris associated with bridge repair activities, the contribution of background debris to street dust, and the impact of rainfall on removal of both lead and other material from the street dust reservoir.« less