Reconstructing Historical Contamination
Events: Use Of Computational Tools To Assist
Environmental Engineers And Health Scientists
Author(s)
M. L. Maslia & M. M. Aral
Abstract
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) assesses
numerous historical and legacy hazardous waste sites as part of its
congressionally mandated public health responsibilities. Because historical, sitespecific,
contaminant and exposure data may be very limited or non-existent,
computational tools (models) are needed to answer environmental and healthrelated
questions associated with exposure scenarios and the conduct of public
health assessments. This paper summarizes two case studies that demonstrate the
effective application and use of computational tools for reconstructing historical
contamination and exposure events. The case studies demonstrate the application
of an analytical multimedia computational tool—the analytical contaminant
analysis transport system (ACTS) and a water-distribution system model
(EPANET) that has been coupled with a progressive optimality genetic
algorithm (POGA). The resulting application and use of these computational
tools have allowed environmental engineers and health scientists at the ATSDR
to assess numerous exposure scenarios so that public health managers could
address issues related to health risks associated with contaminated public water
supplies. These case studies also illustrate the different levels of assessment
complexity—probabilistic screening level to research—that can be used to assess
the impacts of historical contamination events.
Keywords: historical reconstruction, analytical models, probabilistic analysis,
ACTS, water-distribution system model, EPANET, genetic algorithm, POGA.
1 Introduction
Exposures to toxic environmental contaminants are significant risk factors in
human health and disease. To understand and manage these risk factors,
environmental and public health managers must have knowledge of the source of
Keywords
historical reconstruction, analytical models, probabilistic analysis,
ACTS, water-distribution system model, EPANET, genetic algorithm, POGA.
Related Book
Other papers in this volume
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