DEVELOPMENT OF RISK-BASED REMEDIATION STRATEGIES

Risk assessment can be applied throughout the site evaluation process to help identify remedies that are both environmentally sound and cost-effective. For example, risk assessment is often used for calculating cleanup goals for soil and ground water, and as a tool to help to determine the most appropriate corrective actions. Risk assessment can also be used to focus site characterization activities, establish remedial action objectives, compare alternative remedies for achieving those objectives, and develop postremediation monitoring plans. This paper provides a brief overview of the basic principles of risk assessment and of how those principles are applied to hazardous waste sites and industrial facilities. It also identifies assumptions made during the risk assessment process that can have a significant effect on remediation decisions, and discusses the use of risk assessment in selecting an appropriate remedy. Case histories are also presented to illustrate important applications of risk assessment, including its use in updating remedy decisions and evaluating the safety of remedy implementation.