ASTM E2081-22 - Standard Guide for Risk-Based Corrective Action

1.1 This is a guide for conducting risk-based corrective action (RBCA) at chemical release sites based on protecting human health and the environment. The RBCA is a consistent decision-making process for the assessment and response to chemical releases. Chemical release sites vary greatly in terms of complexity, physical and chemical characteristics, and in the risk that they may pose to human health and the environment. The RBCA process recognizes this diversity by using a tiered approach that integrates site assessment and response actions with human health and ecological risk assessment to determine the need for remedial action and to tailor corrective action activities to site-specific conditions and risks. The evaluations and methods used in the RBCA process begin with simple analyses in Tier 1 and move to more complex evaluations in either Tier 2 or Tier 3, as applicable. The process of gathering and evaluating data is conducted in a scaled fashion. Consequently, only the data that are necessary for a particular tier's decision-making are collected at that tier.

1.2 This guide describes an approach for risk-based corrective action. It is intended to help direct and streamline the corrective action process and to complement but not to supersede federal, state and local regulations. It can be employed at sites where corrective action is being conducted including sites where there may not be a regulatory framework for corrective action, or where the user wishes to conduct corrective action such as sites in voluntary cleanup programs or under Brownfields initiatives. In addition, it can also be used as a unifying framework when several different agency programs affect the site. Furthermore, the user should be aware of the federal, state and local corrective action programs that are applicable for the site and, regardless of the program, federal, state and local agency approvals may be required to implement the processes outlined in this guide. Finally, regardless of whether a corrective action is specifically governed by a regulatory program, the user should consult the regulatory agency requirements to identify the appropriate technical policy decisions prior to implementing the RBCA process.

1.3 There are numerous technical policy decisions that must be made to implement the RBCA process, for example, defining data quality objectives, determining target risk levels, specifying the appropriate statistics and sample sizes for calculating exposure concentrations, selection of exposure assumptions, determining when and how to account for cumulative risks and additive effects among chemical(s) of concern and addressing resource protection. It is not the intent of this guide to define appropriate technical policy decisions. The user must identify the appropriate technical policy decisions.

1.4 The general performance standard for this guide requires that:

1.5 ASTM standards are not federal or state regulations, they are consensus standards that can voluntarily be followed.

1.6 The RBCA process is not limited to a particular class of compounds. This guide is intended to be a companion to Guide E1739, and does not supersede that document for petroleum releases. If a release site contains a mixture of releases of petroleum and other chemicals, this guide should be followed.

1.7 The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has developed guidance for human health risk evaluation (see Appendix X9 for other resources). Many of the components of this guidance have been integrated into the RBCA framework. The science of ecological evaluation and the process by which the science is applied, however, are not as well defined and agreed upon as human health risk assessment. Therefore, the information provided in this guide for each tier evaluation for relevant ecological receptors and habitats is general. The user is referred to Appendix X5, which provides additional information regarding the development of a RBCA framework for protection of ecological resources.

1.8 The decision process described in this guide integrates exposure and risk assessment practices with site assessment activities and remedial action selection to ensure that the chosen actions are protective of human health and the environment. The following general sequence of events is prescribed in RBCA:

1.9 For chemical release sites currently in corrective action, the user should review information and data available for the site and determine the most appropriate entry point into the RBCA framework consistent with the general performance standards and sequence of events outlined in this guide.

1.10 This Guide is Organized as Follows—Section 2 lists referenced documents, Section 3 defines terminology used in this guide, Section 4 describes the significance and use of this guide, Section 5 is a summary of the tiered approach, and Section 6 presents the RBCA procedures in a step-by-step process. Appendix X1 provides guidance on developing technical policy decisions and building a RBCA program, Appendix X2 provides examples of chemical properties and effects data that may be useful for a RBCA evaluation, Appendix X3 provides EXAMPLE development of RBSL, Appendix X4 describes the use of predictive modeling, Appendix X5 provides an outline of the process of the ecological evaluation, Appendix X6 provides information about activity and use limitations, Appendix X7 includes illustrative examples of the application of the RBCA framework, Appendix X8 addresses Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). PFAS are synthetic chemicals that do not occur naturally in the environment. There are many different types of PFAS such as perfluorocarboxylic acids (for example, PFOA, sometimes called C8, and PFNA) and perfluorosulfonates (for example, PFOS and PFHxS), and Appendix X9 includes references that may be helpful to the user.

The appendixes are provided for additional information and are NOT included as mandatory sections of this guide.

1.11 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as standard. No other units of measurement are included in this standard.

1.12 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.