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

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 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.