Location: Philadelphia, PA
Brickhouse Environmental performed Supplemental Environmental Site Investigations (ESAs) for two townhome communities in Philadelphia, PA. Results of Phase I ESAs resulted in exceedances of Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) residential risk-based cleanup standards for metals and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs). Elevated concentrations of these substances were therefore identified as a Recognized Environmental Condition (REC) requiring further investigation. Brickhouse performed supplemental soil sampling to further characterize the Sites, which included the analysis of PAHs and metals, including mercury and hexavalent chromium.
Although elevated detections were determined to be related to historic urban fill material, a potential still remained for adverse health effects to current residents, particularly residential children. To determine if the impacted Site soil posed an unacceptable human health risk to residents of the townhome communities, direct contact with surface soil was evaluated through Site-specific Human Health Risk Assessments (HHRAs). Although additional receptors were likely to contact Site soil (i.e., landscaper or maintenance worker), residential evaluations are far more conservative and therefore protective of other less conservative receptors. With a focus on contaminants that have mutagenic potential to children (PAHs and hexavalent chromium), the HHRAs concluded that there are no adverse health effects based on child and adult residential exposure to Site soil.