“often the most significant exposure pathway for VOCs in the subsurface. . . . [W]ith the exception of household use of contaminated groundwater, vapor intrusion is the exposure pathway that usually poses the greatest risk from long-term (chronic) exposure for this class of chemicals.” [VI Guidance, at p. C-1 (emphasis added)]
Although the DTSC notes that “[u]se of the Guidance is optional,” the VI Guidance provides a new level of scrutiny that will be applied in a number of ways to sites with VOC contamination. The DTSC “anticipates that this Guidance will be used by regulators, responsible parties, environmental consultants, community groups and property developers.” [VI Guidance, at p. iii]
1. A Step-Wise Vapor Intrusion Evaluation Process
The VI Guidance establishes a step-wise evaluation procedure to be used in conjunction with other DTSC guidance. The process begins with Step 1: “Identify all spills and releases.” The intermediate steps include: (i) identifying imminent hazards and, if such hazards exist, proceeding immediately to Step 11a; (ii) performing a screening evaluation using default vapor attenuation factors to determine if a potential risk exists; and (iii) if a potential risk exists, (x) collecting additional site data, such as from the subsurface, below the slab, or within the crawl space, but not indoor air data, or (y) collecting indoor air samples. The process ends with Step 11, which addresses:(a) if there is an existing building, mitigating indoor air exposure, implementing engineering controls and remediating contamination, as appropriate; (b) if no building exists, remediating contamination or instituting institutional controls to reduce or prevent potential exposures; and (c) in both cases, instituting long-term monitoring.
2. Significant Changes in the 2011 VI Guidance from the 2004 Interim VI Guidance
Probably the most significant change from the 2004 Interim VI Guidance is that default attenuation factors have been revised to be more conservative. Thus, the 2011 default attenuation factor for an existing commercial building for a subslab sample is 0.05, whereas the 2004 default attenuation factor was 0.01. This means that the estimated indoor air concentration of a VOC based on a subslab sample using the 2011 default attenuation factor will be five times greater than the concentration would have been using the 2004 default attenuation factor.
Other significant changes from the DTSC’s 2004 interim final guidance are the following:
In summary, the VI Guidance will likely result in more frequent implementation of engineering and/or institutional controls for existing buildings.
If you have any questions about the VI Guidance or addressing VOCs at contaminated sites in California, please contact a member of Bingham’s Environmental and Natural Resources Group.
For more information, please contact:
Edward Strohbehn Jr., Partner
edward.strohbehn@bingham.com, 415.393.2059
Rick Rothman, Partner
rick.rothman@bingham.com, 213.680.6590
This article was originally published by Bingham McCutchen LLP.