Newsletters & Articles

Vanadium is in your soil. What does this mean for you?

June 9, 2021

Vanadium is a naturally occurring metal that is present in all soils across Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) recently lowered Vanadium’s residential Statewide Health Standard (SHS) in soils to 15 mg/kg. This concentration is 2 to 6 times less than typical background concentrations in our area. This same standard also carries over to Pennsylvania’s Management of Fill Policy, resulting in virtually any soil being unusable as clean fill if it is analyzed for Vanadium. What does this mean for you?

Consider a school yard, or a park, or your own back yard. There is no known contamination. But if you analyze a sample of the soil for metals on the EPA’s Target Analyte List (TAL), you will almost assuredly find Vanadium at levels that exceed PADEP’s Residential SHS. What do you do? Cap the entire property with asphalt to prevent direct contact?

These questions have plagued landowners and environmental professionals when conducting due diligence, when using the Act 2 voluntary cleanup program, or when moving soil from one property to another in Pennsylvania. While PADEP is working towards an updated approach for evaluating Vanadium in the next year or two, what does this mean for sites seeking relief in the interim?

Risk Assessment – The Best Option

When it comes to residential property use in Pennsylvania (including school yards, parks, etc.), a Human Health Risk Assessment is the best method to address Vanadium in soils. While the PADEP’s SHS for Vanadium is based on conservative assumptions, a site-specific Risk Assessment provides an evaluation of actual risk factors, the realistic potential for human exposure to those risks, and the health effects of such an exposure. The use of actual site-specific data provides a realistic evaluation of acceptable health effects and can result in much higher allowable concentrations of Vanadium in soils.

Navigating A Tiered Approach

It should be noted that conducting a HHRA for Vanadium in Pennsylvania can be a bit tricky.

In the absence of approved Vanadium oral toxicity values, the USEPA recommends an approach for evaluating Vanadium based on surrogate Vanadium Pentoxide values.
However, the PADEP currently requires that a more stringent oral toxicity value be applied.

The result is that risk calculations can predict unacceptable noncancer health effects in the majority of PADEP assessments, even when site concentrations are within naturally occurring background levels.

Therefore, it is important to understand the deviation in approaches, as detailed below, in order to adequately evaluate Vanadium in a Risk Assessment that will result in an approved relief of liability for Act 2 Sites under the Site-Specific Standard (SSS).

For noncancer effects, oral toxicity values are expressed as reference doses (RfDs) for exposure through ingestion and dermal contact. The premise of noncancer toxicity values is that there is an exposure level below which adverse health effects are not expected to occur, even in sensitive populations. An RfD is inversely proportional to the toxic potency of a contaminant; the higher the RfD, the less toxic the contaminant.

The following summarizes the USEPA and PADEP-recommended tiered approach for selecting sources for toxicity values:

Tier 1 – USEPA’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)
Tier 2 – USEPA’s Provisional Peer Review Toxicity Values (PPRTVs)
Tier 3 – Other toxicity values including California EPA (CalEPA) values, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) Minimal Risk Levels (MRLs), and toxicity values developed by various State agencies.

Vanadium may be present in a variety of oxidation states, which differ in their toxicities. As such, the USEPA-recommended RfD for Vanadium is derived from the only available Tier 1 oral RfD for Vanadium Pentoxide. The USEPA recommends factoring out the molecular weight of the oxide ion in order to develop a more conservative elemental Vanadium RfD. Note that this approach and revised RfD is used in developing the USEPA Residential Soil RSL for Vanadium, which is the PADEP-recommended source for screening contaminants as part of the HHRA Site Characterization. As this approach is not promulgated by PADEP and there is no Tier 1 value currently available for elemental Vanadium, a more stringent Tier 2 oral RfD is required to be used in Act 2 HHRAs.

Similar to the Tier 1 RfD, which is based on Vanadium Pentoxide, the Tier 2 RfD is based on sodium metavanadate, rather than elemental Vanadium. Although the oxidative states are the same for both of these compounds (+5), the uncertainty factor applied to the Tier 2 value is far greater than that applied to the Tier I value (3,000 vs. 100, respectively). As a result of the applied uncertainty factors and not intrinsic toxicity, the Tier 2 value is significantly more conservative and therefore results in significantly higher noncancer health estimates in HHRAs.

Removing the Burden on Clients

Sites seeking relief of liability for Vanadium through the Act 2 SSS should be aware that the PADEP promulgated Tier 2 RfD will likely result in unacceptable noncancer health effects in the majority of assessments, even when site concentrations are within naturally occurring background levels. The USEPA IRIS review of the oral assessment of Vanadium and compounds is anticipated to be through external peer review in the second quarter of 2022.

Until a more applicable toxicity value is approved for the evaluation of Vanadium in Pennsylvania, project teams should discuss seeking relief of liability for Vanadium with PADEP project officers and risk assessors in the planning phase of Act 2 Sites. As Brickhouse has discussed at length with PADEP, a weight of evidence approach can be used in HHRAs where noncancer health effects are evaluated with both the Tier 1 and Tier 2 toxicity values. The conservatism and uncertainty associated with the Tier 2 results can then be quantitatively discussed in the Uncertainty Analysis and Risk Summary for a more realistic understanding of the impacts to current and future human health receptors due to oral exposure to Vanadium.

In doing so, Brickhouse has removed the burden on clients to unnecessarily clean up naturally occurring background levels of Vanadium or leave Vanadium off their list of contaminants being sought for cleanup liability, saving them both time and money in the process.

Brickhouse Environmental Expands Risk Assessment Expertise

August 27, 2020

Ms. Kristina Early

Kristina Early joins the Brickhouse Team

Brickhouse Environmental is excited to welcome Ms. Kristina Early to the Brickhouse team as a Senior Risk Assessor and Project Manager. Kristina brings more than 21 years of experience conducting and managing environmental investigations and human health and ecological risk assessments at a variety of Federal USACE, USEPA, National Park Service (NPS) hazardous waste sites, as well as Voluntary Cleanup Program sites in Pennsylvania (Act 2), New Jersey (SRRA), and other states.

Kristina is a respected expert in the practice of Human Health Risk Assessment, with extensive hands-on experience in soil, groundwater, stream sediment, and vapor intrusion studies. Her realistic assessment of transport pathways, receptors and exposure scenarios, combined with her in-depth knowledge and experience navigating the Risk Assessment process, allows us to conduct a more efficient and relevant analysis of risk during the all-important Site Characterization and Remedial Design phases of projects — and provide a final, understandable Risk Assessment Report that will stand up under regulatory review and in Court.

Kristina earned her BS Degree in Environmental Health and MS Degree in Public Health from West Chester University.

Please feel free to contact Kristina directly with any questions regarding Human Health or Ecological Risk Assessments.

Read more about our Risk Assessment services here.

Pennsylvania regulatory Updates

March 31, 2020

Soil Excavation on a Brownfield site in a city setting

Brownfields and Voluntary Cleanup (Act 2) Program

On February 15, 2020, Pennsylvania’s Environmental Quality Board (EQB) published proposed amendments to Pennsylvania’s Land Recycling and Remediation Standards (Act 2) Regulations.

The proposed amendments , published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, include the following:

PFAS: Statewide Health Standards (SHS) will be added for Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA), Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS), and Perfluorobutane Sulfonate (PFBS). Previously unregulated, Pennsylvania will now adopt the USEPA Health Advisory Limit of 70 ng/L for PFOA and PFOS combined.
Other Statewide Health Standards: The SHS for many organic and inorganic compounds will be updated based on the latest scientific information. Most notably, the Ingestion Factor for groundwater has been increased by 20% for both residential and non-residential exposure scenarios, due to people’s increased desire to hydrate. Groundwater ingestion factors have been increased from 2.0 L/day to 4 L/day for residential intake, and 1.0 to 1.2 L/day for non-residential intake, resulting in lower SHSs for many compounds.
Total PCBs in Soil: Numeric values would be calculated for total polychlorinated biphenyls in soil. PCPG reports that the Department agrees with the Cleanup Standards Science Advisory Board’s suggestion to keep the individual Aroclors in all of the tables, including Table 5A. Unfortunately, the incorrect version of Table 5A was provided to, and approved by, the EQB and the correction will be made prior to publication of the Final Rulemaking and an explanation for the correction will be provided in the Comment Response document.
Professional Seals: This proposed new section mirrors language from § 245.314 (relating to professional seals) of the storage tank regulations, requiring that reports submitted to the Department which include professional geologic or engineering work be sealed by a professional geologist or engineer.

The 60-day public comment period for this proposed rulemaking ends on April 14, 2020.

Although the new standards have not yet been formally adopted, they should already be taken into consideration during Phase I and Phase II environmental due diligence assessments.

Proposed Amendments

PADEP suggests using CAPS as engineering tools

Act 2 Technical Guidance Manual – The Use of Caps as Engineering Controls

PADEP plans to finalize and publish an Appendix to the Act 2 TGM providing guidance for the use of caps as engineering controls. The planned release date is March 2020. The document will apply solely to the use of caps in attaining an Act 2 standard. It will be guidance, not regulation, and will be provided to inform remediators of recommended best practices.
The document will include guidance on cap design, construction materials, demarcation layers, documentation, maintenance, inspections, and reporting.

Look for this guidance policy to be published soon in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, followed by a 30-day public notice period for comment. Upon approval, the policy will be appended to the Act 2 TGM. For those who can’t wait, click the link below.

Environmental Cleanup -Brownfields

Management of Fill Policy

As discussed in our January 2020 Newsletter, the PADEP’s new Management of Fill Policy went into effect on January 1, 2020. Some important take-aways include:

The new Policy eliminates the previous numeric standards (Table GP-1), which were developed in 2004. It replaces them with Act 2 Statewide Health Standards – the lower of the current residential direct contact numeric values for soils and the residential generic soil-to-groundwater numeric values. Consequently, the clean fill standards will automatically be updated when the Act 2 regulations are next amended (see update above).
The amount of lab testing required for “Clean Fill” determinations can be significantly reduced through “due diligence”. Your trusted environmental professional can help you to determine how much due diligence is needed, how much it can potentially save in lab costs and time, and whether it’s worth it.
Once it is determined that fill material meets the definition of “clean fill”, a Certification of Clean Fill form (FP-001) must be filed electronically with PADEP (for informational purposes but not approval) before the fill material is transported to the receiving site. Beware – PADEP can review your FP-001 submission, after the fact, and come back to you if they don’t think that it’s sufficient. Therefore, it’s important to properly cover your bases before sending fill offsite.
A clean fill determination can be made if it is shown that the concentrations of analytes exceeding the relevant Act 2 standards are actually below background concentrations in soils in the area of the site. However, not only must the fill material be shown to meet background concentrations from the donor site, they must also be shown to meet background concentrations for the receiving site in order to send the material to that property.

Management of Fill Policy

Clean Fill Form (FP-001)

Regulated Fill – PADEP General Permit No. WMGR096

If fill material is determined to not meet clean fill standards, it may still meet “regulated fill” standards, which can still provide significant project cost savings when compared to sending the material to a landfill.

Since the material contains compounds above clean fill standards, regulated fill is still classified as a residual waste. Therefore, it must be managed properly – in accordance with General Permit No. WMGR096 (hot link?). This general permit was scheduled to expire on December 23, 2019 but couldn’t be modified for reissuance until after the new Management of Fill Policy was finalized. Therefore, WMGR096 was extended in its existing form until June 23, 2021.

PADEP says that they plan to release proposed modifications to General Permit No. WMGR096 in the 2^nd Quarter of 2020. Stay tuned…

Brownfields Bulletin

March 6, 2020

IRS Publishes Final Opportunity Zone Regulations: Putting It All Together

The IRS released final regulations under Section 1400Z-2 that tie together many of the loose ends remaining after the publishing of two sets of proposed regulations, one in October 2018 and another in May 2019. This article will attempt to put it ALL together: the statute, the two proposed regulations, and last week’s final regulations.

Final Opportunity Zone Treasury Regulations Released

The U.S. Department of Treasury released the long-awaited final Opportunity Zone Treasury Regulations (the “Final Regulations”). The Final Regulations and explanatory materials that span 544 pages, are quite extensive and give some needed clarity into how the Opportunity Zone tax rules work. This client alert is intended to highlight just some of the changes and clarifications in the rules.

U.S. Department of Transportation Releases New Interactive Opportunity Zones Map

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s new interactive map provides information about the location and characteristics of significant transportation-related facilities that are located in or near Opportunity Zones.

Check out the PA Regulatory Update provided by Brickhouse Environmental Partner: David Farrington.

Brickhouse Environmental Green Team

February 11, 2020

Creating A Green Work Space

The Brickhouse Environmental Green Team is an active committee among the employees. Staff members have been applying sustainable practices at home and at work for many years. More recently, several of us decided to take it to the next level to raise awareness and increase the positive impact. After a few water cooler conversations, the Brickhouse Environmental Green Team was established in January 2020 for this very purpose. This committee is made up of a diverse group of Brickhouse Environmental employees who are setting out to turn their work space into a green space.

The goals of the Brickhouse Green team are simple:

Reduce the amount of solid waste we send to landfills
Reduce our carbon emissions
Protect and improve our local environment

With the first and second goals in mind, our company has teamed up with TerraCycle and Subaru to establish multiple recycling collections that are open to the public. These recycling collections target various items that are not recyclable through typical municipal recycling programs. Brickhouse Environmental is currently set up to collect the following items: all brands of razors and razor packaging, k-cups, coffee creamer capsules, disposable cups, disposable straws, candy wrappers, and snack wrappers. Click here for a printable Razor flyer. Click here for the Coffee Flyer. While we are proud of the collection programs we currently offer, there are many more programs through TerraCycle that we hope to add in the future! In addition, the Green Team is working to reduce our kitchen waste by providing reusable hand towels in the kitchen and implementing a food-scrap composting program. These new recycling collections are in addition to preexisting recycling and waste reduction initiatives for paper, cardboard, glass and plastic that have been in place at our office for years.

Green Team Initiatives

In an effort to accomplish our third goal, the green team is brainstorming new ways to protect and improve our local environment, while our company continues to conduct long-term local initiatives and provide local remediation services to our clients. One way we are directly improving our local community is by conducting bi-annual highway-cleanups as part of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Adopt-a-Highway program. To see for yourself, be sure to check out our stretch of road along US 322 next time you are leaving West Chester! While we might be brainstorming new initiatives, local environmental remediation has always and will always be the central priority of our company.

If you would like to take advantage of our recycling programs while also helping to reduce your own carbon footprint, you can drop off any of the items mentioned above at the Brickhouse Office.

Drop off location: 515 South Franklin Street, West Chester, PA 19382

Date/Time: Fridays from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm.

Questions? Contact Molly Bowe at 610-692-5770

or email mbowe@brickhouse-environmental.com

Printable Flyers: Click here for a printable Razor flyer. Click here for the Coffee Flyer.

Want to Learn More?

If you liked what you read, be sure to sign up for the Brickhouse Environmental Newsletter to stay informed of the team’s progress and if you are interested in making your office more “green” check out this article “Greening Offices: 25 Tips to Get You Started”.

Pending Revisions to the ASTM Phase I ESA Standard (E1527-13)

February 10, 2020

Professionals involved with commercial and industrial real estate transactions are almost assuredly familiar with the ASTM “Phase I Environmental Site Assessment” (ESA). Well, the current version of the ASTM Standard is due for revision in 2020.

Environmental due diligence has been an important factor in commercial and industrial property transactions since the 1980s, as proper due diligence was identified as a specific need for federal liability protection under CERCLA. In 1993, ASTM published E1527, the first “standard practice” for environmental professionals conducting Phase I ESAs. Since that time, the “ASTM Phase I Standard” (E1527) has been recognized as the industry standard for conducting the first phase of environmental due diligence.

Every 8 years, the ASTM standards expire and need to be revised. That time period will soon come for ASTM E1527-13, as it sunsets on December 31, 2021. Therefore, the new standard (E1527-21) must be finalized and published sometime in 2021.

The ASTM E50.02 subcommittee is working on updating several aspects to the standard. Key changes to E1527 are anticipated to include:

Clarifications to the HREC and CREC definitions. The task group is working to refine the definitions for HRECs and CRECs and relationships between the various types of Recognized Environmental Conditions.
Expansion of Historical Research to adjoining properties. The current version of the standard specifically requires historical research of the subject property, but the updated standard may require a more robust investigation of adjoining properties and the surrounding area.
Non-Scope Considerations may be modified to reference emerging contaminants, especially PFAS.

Brickhouse Environmental is participating on the ASTM E50.02 subcommittee, and we will continue to track the status of the updated ASTM Phase I Standard. Continue to check our website and ASTM.org for future updates.