For many years, risk assessment has been a valuable interpretive tool to define the relative significance of contamination in food, soil, water, and air. Since their introduction over a decade ago, risk assessment methodologies have continued to improve and now provide a valuable tool to reduce costs and close environmentally distressed sites.

Risk-Based Corrective Action (RBCA) requires the identification of specific contaminant levels and the site-specific evaluation of potential exposure pathways. To determine the appropriate cleanup level for a site, a sufficient amount of data must be obtained to make reasonable judgments on the type of exposure at a site. AKT Peerless staff is experienced in collecting, compiling, and evaluating the following:

·         The contaminant distribution at the site

·         The media which is contaminated (soil or groundwater)

·         The exposure pathway (e.g., hydro geologic information or institutional controls)

·         Potential receptors

·         The intended site use

After obtaining site-specific data, risk assessment algorithms can be used to calculate the appropriate cleanup levels.

If the maximum concentrations detected at the site are less than their respective cleanup levels, no further action may be necessary to close the site. For most sites, a risk-based approach will reduce the costs and time required to achieve closure.

Although risk assessment was once reserved for only costly Superfund sites, today this remedial decision-making tool is increasingly used for sites of all sizes and complexities for setting cleanup criteria.