Guidance for Conducting Risk Assessments and Related Risk ...

• the prioritization of projects/activities;
• the establishment of clean-up criteria that are protective of human health and the environment;
• the effectiveness of selected remedies;
• the determination of source terms and estimating probability and magnitude of release due to
catastrophic events or deterioration of existing structures or containment systems;
• the effectiveness of treatment technologies; and
• the risk from residual materials, infrastructure, and chemicals in building/structures slated for re-use.
The risk assessment guidelines outlined in the original document, Risk Assessment Strategy at DOE-
ORO (ES/ER/TM-180, LMES 1996c), have been updated and incorporated into this document. The focus
of TM-180 was to ensure that all risk assessment and related risk activities in support of environmental
restoration efforts, namely the CERCLA RI/FS process, would be “performed in a consistent and
technically defensible manner”.
The goal of this document is similar to ES/ER/TM-180, but the scope has been expanded to address
other uses of risk assessment and related risk activities that support decision-making [e.g., waste
management, decontamination and decommissioning (D&D), technology demonstration, and
reindustrialization efforts].
1.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE
The purpose of this document is to establish guidelines to ensure that all risk assessments and
related risk activities for the DOE-ORO EM Program are consistent with both program and regulatory
guidance and are technically defensible. This is especially important under the M & I contracting process
because subcontractors will perform most risk assessment tasks. The use of this document will streamline
the completion of human health risk assessments by providing program and project managers with a
framework that integrates risk assessment activities into the life cycle of projects.
The methods outlined in this document are consistent with the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency’s (EPA) human health evaluation process described in parts A through D of Risk Assessment
Guidance for Superfund Volume I: Human Health Evaluation Manual (RAGS) (EPA 1989, 1991a,
1991b, 1998). Under CERCLA, RAGS serves as the primary regulatory guidance document for all risk
assessments and its application to risk management. In addition to RAGS, comments provided by state
and federal regulators on previously submitted risk assessment reports and the most up-to-date scientific
findings related to the evaluation of human health risk have been incorporated into this document.
The Paducah risk assessment guidance document, Methods for Conducting Human Health Risk
Assessments and Risk Evaluations at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (DOE/OR/07-1506&D1,
DOE 1996) was prepared to incorporate requirements of the State of Kentucky and EPA Region IV.
Although the Paducah risk assessment guidance document references this document, the Paducah
guidance is to be considered “site-specific”. All risk assessments and risk evaluations at the Paducah
Gaseous Diffusion Plant must comply with the requirements outlined in Methods for Conducting Human
Health Risk Assessments and Risk Evaluations at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (DOE/OR/07-
1506&D1, DOE 1996) or its most recent revision.
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