Evaluation Methodology for Environmental Impact Assessment of Industrial Wastes Used as Highway Materials: An Overview with Respect to U.S. EPA's Environmental Risk Assessment Framework

Abstract

An evaluation methodology was developed for assessing potential ecological risks posed by constituents released from waste and industrial byproducts used in highway construction. This methodology is discussed in the context of United States Environmental Protection Agency's (U.S. EPA) environmental risk assessment framework. Concerted efforts have been made to incorporate important components of the U.S. EPA's risk assessment framework with the Oregon State University (OSU) methodology's own innovative testing and measurement components for assessing potential ecological risks. The evaluation methodology includes leaching tests that are designed to describe source terms (quantification of characteristics of leachate, such as the constituents released, the chemical matrix, the rate of release) and the potential for ecological risk, i.e., hazard assessment of industrial wastes used in highway construction). Environmental removal, reduction, and retardation tests combined with an integrated chemical and biological assessment prescribed in the OSU methodology contribute substantially in characterizing the exposure and ecological effects of leachate constituents.