Abstract
ABSTRACT
As a result of the former burning of hazardous chemical wastes in the open air along the border of lake IJmeer, located southeast of Amsterdam, the surrounding environment was contaminated with a variety of organic substances. The major contaminants detected were solvents, volatile aromatics, organochlorine pesticides, arsenic, PCBs, PAHs and PCDDs/PCDFs. For the purpose of risk assessment, several pathways for the migration of hazardous substances were identified. Both site-specific total-lifetime cancer risk and total acceptable daily intake were calculated. The relative contribution of the PCDDs/PCDFs to the total acceptable daily intake was 50.1%. In addition, their contribution to the total-lifetime cancer risk amounted to more than 98%.It is concluded that without remedial action neither the total-lifetime carcinogenic risk nor the total acceptable daily intake would satisfy the minimum health protection goals of 10−6 and 300%, respectively. Complete removal of the residues from burning and of the adjacent lake sediments turned out to be the remedial action plan offering the greatest degree of public health protection.
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