Derivation of Health-Based Screening Levels for Evaluating Indoor Surface Contamination

Abstract

This paper describes the development of U.S. Army Public Health Command (Provisional) Technical Guide 312, Health Risk Assessment Methods and Screening Levels for Evaluating Office Worker Exposures to Contaminants on Indoor Surfaces Using Surface Wipe Data. Surface sampling of indoor surfaces may be performed to determine whether a building is safe for re-entry following an event (for example, fire, pesticide application) or change in building use (for example, laboratory to administrative office). Surface wipe sampling results may be used to assess either the degree of contamination before cleanup or to determine whether post-abatement (also post-remediation, post-clearance) actions were effective. The U.S. Army Public Health Command (Provisional) Environmental Health Risk Assessment Program has conducted risk assessments based on surface wipe sampling data and, over time, has evolved the methodology into a technical guide. The technical guide addresses the need to develop an approach to characterize potential health risk to exposed populations using surface wipe sampling results and to provide surface wipe screening levels to facilitate initial assessments. The methodology provides a means to estimate office worker exposures from inhalation of resuspended particles, dermal contact, and incidental ingestion exposure routes. Potential chemical health risks from aggregated intakes are evaluated using conventional U.S. Environmental Protection Agency risk assessment methods.

Pesticides and Herbicides

“…Some of the major risk factors found in the study were use of incomplete personal protective equipment, wiping sweat with contaminated fabric, reentering recently sprayed areas, dermal contact with spills from leakage of backpack sprayers, and contact with other spills while mixing pesticides. The development of healthbased screening procedures for evaluating indoor surface contamination was reported by Murnyak and Chang (2011).…”