Code of Massachusetts Regulations
310 CMR - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Title 310 CMR 40.0000 - Massachusetts Contingency Plan
Subpart I - RISK CHARACTERIZATION
Section 40.0994 - Method 3 Public Welfare Risk Characterization
Universal Citation: 310 CMR 40.0000 MA Code of Regs 40.0994
Current through Register 1531, September 27, 2024
Purpose. There are two purposes for conducting a characterization of risk to public welfare:
(a) to identify and evaluate nuisance conditions which may be localized, and
(b) to identify and evaluate significant community effects. The characterization of risk to public welfare shall consider effects which are or may result from the presence of residual contamination or the implementation of a proposed remedial alternative.
The characterization of risk to public welfare shall be conducted for all current and reasonably foreseeable Site Activities and Uses identified in 310 CMR 40.0923, as follows:
(1) The characterization of the risk of harm
to public welfare shall consider the site, receptor, and exposure information
identified in
310
CMR 40.0901 through
310
CMR 40.0930, as well as data collected
pursuant to the response action(s) being performed.
(2) the characterization of the risk to
public welfare shall, in addition to those factors identified in 310 CMR
40.0994(1), also consider such factors as the existence of nuisance conditions,
loss of active or passive property use(s), and any non-pecuniary effects not
otherwise considered in the characterization of risk of harm to health, safety
and the environment, but which may accrue due to the degradation of public
resources directly attributable to the release or threat of release of oil
and/or hazardous material or the remedial alternative.
(3) The risk of harm to public welfare shall
also be characterized by:
(a) comparing the
concentration of each oil or hazardous material to the Method 3 Ceiling Limits
in Soil and Groundwater, as described at
310
CMR 40.0996; and
(b) assessing the presence of accessible
visible coal tar waste deposits at the site, as described at
310
CMR 40.0997.
(4) A level of no significant risk of harm to
public welfare exists or has been achieved if:
(a) No nuisance conditions exist or will
result from the release or threat of release of oil or hazardous material, or
the remedial alternative, including:
1. The
breathing zone of ambient and indoor air are currently and will, in the
reasonably foreseeable future, remain free from persistent, noxious
odors,
2. There is accessible
drinking water that is and will, in the reasonably foreseeable future, remain
free from noxious taste and odors; and
3. Livestock is and will remain, in the
reasonably foreseeable future, free from harmful effects. No specific
evaluation of livestock is required if it is reasonable to conclude that the
human health and environmental risk characterizations conducted for the site
are also protective of livestock exposures.
(b) No community that is currently affected
and/or community for which it is reasonably foreseeable to conclude that it
could be affected by the release experiences significant adverse impacts as set
forth as the factors to be considered in
310
CMR 40.0994(2);
and
(c) The requirements of
310
CMR 40.0996 concerning the Method 3 Ceiling
Limits are met; and
(d) The
requirements of
310
CMR 40.0997 concerning the presence of
visible coal tar waste deposits are met.
(5) The documentation of the Method 3 public
welfare Risk Characterization shall clearly state whether or not a condition of
no significant risk of harm to public welfare exists or has been achieved at
the current and reasonably foreseeable Site Activities and
Uses.
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