Groundwater Contamination Risk Assessment:
A Guide to Understanding and Managing Uncertainties

A report by the Working Group on Groundwater Contamination Risk Assessment
of the IAHS International Commission on Groundwater
 
Edited by Eric Reichard, Carl Cranor, Robert Raucher & Giovanni Zapponi

Publ. no. 196, 1990, price £15.00 , 204 + xvi pages, ISBN 0-947571-72-8

List of Contents

  1. Introduction, 1
     
    1.1 Risk Assessment and Risk Management, 1
    1.2 Uncertainties Inherent in Groundwater Contamination Risk Assessment, 5
    1.3 Overview of Monographs, 8
    1.4 References, 10
     
  2. Sources of Groundwater Contamination, 11
     
    2.1 Land Disposal of Municipal and Industrial Waste, 13
    2.2 Sewage Treatment and Disposal, 13
    2.3 Land Application of Liquid Wastes, 14
    2.4 Spills and Leaks from Storage and Transport of Liquids, 14
    2.5 Well Injection of Liquid Wastes, 15
    2.6 Agricultural Activities, 15
    2.7 Mining Activities, 15
    2.8 Radioactive Waste, 16
    2.9 Naturally Occurring Poor-Quality Water, 16
    2.10 Srface Water and Atmospheric Contaminants, 16
    2.11 Conclusions, 17
    2.12 References, 18
     
  3. The Fate and Transport of Chemicals in Groundwater, 19
     
    3.1 Contaminant Release, 19
    3.2 Fate and Transport in Unsaturated Zone, 22
    3.3 Saturated Transport, 25 3.4 Multiphase Flow, 26
    3.5 Biochemical Processes, 26
    3.6 Groundwater Monitoring, 27
    3.7 Conclusions, 34
    3.8 References, 36
     
  4. Estimating Human Exposure to Groundwater Contaminants, 41
     
    4.1 Exposure Assessment Methodology, 42
    4.2 Estimating Population Exposure Levels, 44
    4.3 Monitoring at Supply Wells, 44
    4.4 Conclusions, 45
    4.5 References, 46
     
  5. Consequences of Exposure : Dose-Response Assessment, 47
     
    5.1 Introduction and Basic Concepts, 47
    5.2 The Basic Criteria for the Definition of "Safe Doses", 55
    5.3 Basic Mathematical Aspects of Dose-Response Analysis, 59
    5.4 The Main Mathematical Models for Experimental Carcinogenic Dose-Response Fitting and their Low-Dose Trends, 61
    5.5 Basic Statistical Aspects of Experimental Dose-Response Model Fitting, 67
    5.6 The Use of Epidemiological Data, 77
    5.7 Practical Problems in Dose-Response Assessment Related to Drinking Water, 79
    5.8 Conclusions, 81
    5.9 References, 82
     
  6. Evaluating Groundwater Monitoring Strategies in a Decision-Analytic Framework, 87
     
    6.1 Methodology for Evaluating the Worth of Hydrogeologic Data, 88
    6.2 Example Computation of the Value of Perfect Exposure Information, 93
    6.3 Quantifying the Value of Imperfect Sample Information, 96
    6.4 Conclusions, 97
    6.5 References, 100
     
  7. Characterizing and Managing Groundwater Contamination Health Risks under Uncertainty : An Economic Framework, 101
     
    7.1 Introduction, 101
    7.2 Benefit-Cost Analysis : A Conceptual Framework for Evaluating Management Options, 102
    7.3 Valuing Reductions in Risk to Human Health : Issues and Uncertainties, 104
    7.4 Discounting : Accounting for the Timing of Risk, 109
    7.5 Risk Attributes and Risk Perception, 113 7.6 Using Economic and Related Analytic Methods to Inform Decision-Making under Uncertainty, 119
    7.7 Conclusions, 122
    7.8 References, 124
     
  8. Institutional Strategies for Coping with Uncertainties in Groundwater Contamination Health Risk Assessments, 127
     
    8.1 Introduction, 127
    8.2 Uncertainty in Risk Assessment, 128
    8.3 Approaches to Risk Assessment, 134
    8.4 Conclusions, 144
    8.5 References, 145
     
  9. Normative Guidance for Risk Assessment, 149
     
    9.1 Introductiion, 149
    9.2 Statutory and Moral Guidance for Risk Assessment, 149
    9.3 Regulatory Statutes and Normative Guidance, 151
    9.4 U.S. Environmental Statutes Protecting Groundwater, 153
    9.5 Groundwater Protection Laws and Risk Assessment, 159
    9.6 Moral Guidance for Risk Assessment, 161
    9.7 Summary of Policy Guidance for Risk Assessment, 167
    9.8 Risk Assessment Design, 168
    9.9 Conclusions, 172
    9.10 References, 173
     
  10. Conclusions, 177
     
    10.1 Uncertainties and Risk Management in Groundwater Contamination Risk Assessment, 177
    10.2 Priority Setting, 182
    10.3 Relative Importance of Groundwater Contamination Risks, 182
    10.4 Needs for Future Work, 183
    10.5 References, 184
     
IAHS Thanks UNESCO for its generous support for the digitization of this volume
L'AIHS remercie l'UNESCO pour son aide généreuse qui a permis la numérisation de ce volume