[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 220 (Wednesday, November 16, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-28293]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: November 16, 1994]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-5106-7]

 

Draft Soil Screening Guidance

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of informational meeting on Draft Soil Screening 
Guidance.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold an 
informational meeting on December 1, 1994, to present a document 
entitled ``Draft Soil Screening Guidance.'' This guidance is intended 
to serve as a tool to expedite the evaluation of contaminated soils at 
sites addressed under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), commonly known as Superfund. 
While the guidance is intended to be used as a screening tool to 
determine if further study is warranted at a site, it does not 
represent clean-up standards for a site. Such guidance is not intended 
to have the force of a regulation and today's notice is not a proposed 
rule. A subsequent Federal Register notice, forthcoming in several 
weeks, will announce the availability of and seek public comment on 
this draft guidance and a supporting Technical Background Document.

DATES: An Informational Meeting, open to the public, will be held on 
December 1, 1994.

ADDRESSES: The Informational Meeting will be held from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. 
(EST) at the Sheraton Washington Hotel, 2660 Woodley Road at 
Connecticut Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20008.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Cooper, Remedial Operations and 
Guidance Branch, Hazardous Site Control Division, Office of Emergency 
and Remedial Response (5203G), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 
401 M Street, SW., Washington, DC 20460, at (703) 603-8820, or the 
RCRA/Superfund Hotline at (800) 424-9346 (in the Washington, DC 
metropolitan area, (703) 412-9810). The Telecommunications Device for 
the Deaf (TDD) Hotline number is (800) 553-7672 (in the Washington, DC 
metropolitan area, (703) 412-3323).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Introduction

    The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) responds to uncontrolled 
releases of hazardous substances under the authority of the 
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act 
(CERCLA) of 1980. CERCLA or Superfund, as it is commonly known, 
requires that the response to hazardous substances be performed in 
accordance with regulations found in the National Oil and Hazardous 
Substances Pollution Contingency Plan or NCP. The NCP process requires 
that a remedial investigation be performed to identify the nature and 
extent of contamination at National Priorities List (NPL) sites. From 
sampling results, as well as site observations obtained in the field, 
specific contaminants and exposure pathways of concern are identified 
and used in a baseline risk assessment performed to determine whether 
remedial action is warranted.1,2
    Today's Federal Register notice announces an informational public 
meeting to introduce a draft of a new tool called the ``Draft Soil 
Screening Guidance.'' This guidance may reduce significantly the time 
it takes to complete soil investigations and cleanup actions, as well 
as improve the consistency of these actions across the nation. The 
draft guidance has been written for remedial investigation/feasibility 
study (RI/FS) work at Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) sites. 
This guidance on developing soil screening values is expected to assist 
site managers in quickly identifying contaminated soil of potential 
concern and in screening out from further consideration those soils 
that do not warrant additional study.
    The Draft Soil Screening Guidance will present three methods which 
may be used to develop risk based, soil screening level values. These 
values are then compared to on-site soil contaminant levels. The 
framework provides the three methods for developing soil screening 
levels, but focuses on a simple, site-specific approach. Areas of a 
site which fall below such levels may be screened out from further 
assessment, while areas above the SSL values must undergo further 
assessment. While the guidance is intended to be used as a screening 
tool to determine if further study is warranted at a site, it does not 
represent clean-up standards for a site. The formulae and most of the 
exposure assumptions upon which the draft guidance is based have been 
taken from the Risk Assessment Guidance for Superfund1,2 and have 
been widely accepted in the Superfund program for a number of years.
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    \1\U.S. EPA. 1989. Risk Assessment Guidance for Superfund: 
Volume 1: Human Health Evaluation Manual, Part A, Interim Final. 
EPA/540/1-89/002. Office of Emergency and Remedial Response, 
Washington D. C. NTIS PB90-155581/CCE.
    \2\U.S. EPA. 1991. Risk Assessment Guidance for Superfund, 
Volume 1: Human Health Evaluation Manual (Part B, Development of 
Risk-Based Preliminary Remediation Goals). Publication 9285.7-01B. 
Office of Emergency and Remedial Response, Washington, D.C. NTIS 
PB92-963333.

    Dated: November 9, 1994.
Elliott P. Laws,
Assistant Administrator.
[FR Doc. 94-28293 Filed 11-15-94; 8:45 am]
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