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Assessment and Remediation of Contaminated Sediments (ARCS) Program

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Baseline Human Health Risk Assessment: Grand Calumet River/Indiana Harbor Canal, Indiana, Area of Concern

by
Judy L. Crane
ASCI Corporation
Athens, Georgia 30605

Project Officer
Robert B. Ambrose, Jr.
Environment Research Laboratory
Athens, Georgia  30613

Environmental Research Laboratory
Office of Research and Development
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Athens, Georgia 30613

Table of Contents

  1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
    • 1.1 OVERVIEW
    • 1.2 EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT
    • 1.3 RISK ASSESSMENT
      • 1.3.1 Determination of Risk
      • 1.3.2 Dermal Exposure Risk Estimates
      • 1.3.3 Fish Consumption Risk Estimates
      • 1.3.4 Uncertainties
  2. INTRODUCTION
  3. GRAND CALUMET RIVER/INDIANA HARBOR CANAL AREA OF CONCERN
    • 3.1 INTRODUCTION
    • 3.2 GRAND CALUMET RIVER BASIN
      • 3.2.1 Environmental Setting
      • 3.2.2 Grand Calumet River
      • 3.2.3 Indiana Harbor Canal
      • 3.2.4 Indiana Harbor
    • 3.3 WATER QUALITY STANDARDS
    • 3.4 OVERVIEW OF CONTAMINATION PROBLEMS
    • 3.5 LAND USE PATTERNS
    • 3.6 DRINKING WATER INTAKES
    • 3.7 CONTAMINATION OF FISH
      • 3.7.1 Routes of Contamination
      • 3.7.2 Fish Advisories
  4. RISK ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK
    • 4.1 CONCEPT OF RISK
    • 4.2 RISK FRAMEWORK
  5. EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT
    • 5.1 OVERVIEW
    • 5.2 EXPOSURE PATHWAYS
      • 5.2.1 Incomplete Exposure Pathways
      • 5.2.2 Complete Exposure Pathways
        • 5.2.2.1 Complete Exposure Pathways in the Grand Calumet River
        • 5.2.2.2 Complete Exposure Pathways in the Indiana Harbor
    • 5.3 DATA USED IN THE EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT
      • 5.3.1 Sources of Data Reports
      • 5.3.2 Data Review
      • 5.3.3 Data Used
        • 5.3.3.1 Porewater Data
        • 5.3.3.2 Water Column Data
        • 5.3.3.3 Fish Data
    • 5.4 EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT
      • 5.4.1 General Determination of Chemical Intakes
      • 5.4.2 Intakes: Ingestion of Contaminated Fish
      • 5.4.3 Intakes: Dermal Contact with Surface Water
      • 5.4.4 Intakes: Dermal Contact with Sediments
  6. TOXICITY ASSESSMENT
    • 6.1 TOXICITY VALUES
    • 6.2 LIMITATIONS
  7. BASELINE RISK CHARACTERIZATION FOR THE GRAND CALUMET RIVER/INDIANA HARBOR CANAL AREA OF CONCERN
    • 7.1 PURPOSE OF THE RISK CHARACTERIZATION STEP
    • 7.2 QUANTIFYING RISKS
      • 7.2.1 Determination of Noncarcinogenic Risks
      • 7.2.2 Determination of Carcinogenic Effects
    • 7.3 HUMAN HEALTH RISKS IN THE GRAND CALUMET RIVER
      • 7.3.1 Dermal Exposure to Surface Water
      • 7.3.2 Dermal Exposure to Sediments
      • 7.3.3 Ingestion of Contaminated Fish
        • 7.3.3.1 Noncarcinogenic Effects
        • 7.3.3.2 Carcinogenic Effects
    • 7.4 HUMAN HEALTH RISKS IN INDIANA HARBOR
      • 7.4.1 Noncarcinogenic Effects from Consuming Fish
      • 7.4.2 Carcinogenic Effects from Consuming Fish
  8. CHARACTERIZATION OF QUALITATIVE UNCERTAINTIES
    • 8.1 INTRODUCTION
    • 8.2 QUALITATIVE LIST OF UNCERTAINTIES
      • 8.2.1 Data Compilation and Evaluation
      • 8.2.2 Exposure Assessment
      • 8.2.3 Toxicity Values
      • 8.2.4 Risk Characterization
    • 8.3 SUMMARY

ABSTRACT

The Assessment and Remediation of Contaminated Sediments (ARCS) program, a 5-year study and demonstration project relating to the control and removal of contaminanted sediments from the Great Lakes, is being coordinated and conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Great Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO). As part of the ARCS program, baseline human health risk assessments are being performed at five Areas of Concern (AOCs) in the Great Lakes region. The Grand Calumet River/Indiana Harbor Canal (GCR/IHC), located in northwestern Indiana, is one of these AOCs.

In this report, exposure and risk assessment guidelines, developed for the EPA Superfund program, have been applied to determine the baseline human health risks associated with direct and indirect exposures to sediment-derived contaminants in the severely degraded GCR/IHC AOC. These risks were estimated for noncarcinogenic (e.g., reproductive toxicity, teratogenicity, liver toxicity) and carcinogenic (i.e., probability of an individual developing cancer over a lifetime) effects under different exposure scenarios.

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