EPA/540/R/99/005 

OSWER 9285.7-02EP 

PB99-963312 

July 2004 

Risk Assessment Guidance for Superfund 

Volume I: Human Health 

Evaluation Manual 

(Part E, Supplemental Guidance for 

Dermal Risk Assessment) 

Final
 

Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

Washington, DC 
This document provides guidance to EPA Regions concerning how the Agency intends to exercise its discretion 

in implementing one aspect of the CERCLA remedy selection process. The guidance is designed to implement 

national policy on these issues. 

Some of the statutory provisions described in this document contain legally binding requirements. However, this 

document does not substitute for those provisions or regulations, nor is it a regulation itself. Thus, it cannot impose 

legally-binding requirements on EPA, states, or the regulated community, and may not apply to a particular situation 

based upon the circumstances. Any decisions regarding a particular remedy selection decision will be made based 

on the statute and regulations, and EPA decisionmakers retain the discretion to adopt approaches on a case-by-case 

basis that differ from this guidance where appropriate. EPA may change this guidance in the future. 

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ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT
 

WHAT IT IS	 This document is Supplemental Guidance (Part E) to the Risk Assessment Guidance for Superfund, 

Volume I: Human Health Evaluation Manual (RAGS). This document incorporates and updates 

the principles of the EPA interim report, Dermal Exposure Assessment: Principles and 

Applications (DEA) (U.S. EPA, 1992a), released by the Office of Health and Environmental 

Assessment (OHEA), in the Office of Research and Development (ORD), in January 1992. Part 

E contains methods for conducting dermal risk assessments. EPA has found these methods 

generally to be appropriate. However, for each dermal risk assessment, Regions must decide 

whether these methods, or others, are appropriate, depending on the facts. Specific information 

and data tables and updated or modified assumptions or variables used in this guidance are 

available on the following EPA WebPages: 

http://www.epa.gov/oswer/riskassessment/ 

or 

http://www.epa.gov/superfund/programs/risk/ragse/index.htm 

FOR WHOM 	 This guidance document is for risk assessors, risk assessment reviewers, remedial project 

managers (RPMs), and risk managers involved in Superfund site investigations and human health 

risk assessments. 

WHAT IS RAGS Part E updates or expands the following elements in dermal risk assessment methodology: 

NEW 

S	 updated dermal exposure assessment equations for the water pathway 

S	 updated table for screening contaminants of potential concern (COPCs) from contaminants in water 

S	 specific dermal absorption from soil values for ten chemicals and recommended defaults 

for screening other organic compounds 

S	 updated soil adherence values based on receptor activities 

S	 updated dermal exposure parameters that are consistent with the Exposure Factors 

Handbook (U.S. EPA, 1997a) 

S	 an expanded Uncertainty Analysis section that discusses and compares the contribution 

of specific components to the overall uncertainty in a dermal risk assessment. 

REVIEW	 This guidance document has been reviewed by internal EPA peer review (May 1997), external 

peer review (January 1998), and followup external peer review (January 2000). In addition, 

specific technical recommendations were provided by a Peer Consultation Workshop organized 

by the Risk Assessment Forum (December 1998). EPA received public comments on the draft of 

the guidance that was released in December 2001. 

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