In November 2021, ProPublica published “The Most Detailed Map of Cancer-Causing Industrial Air Pollution in the U.S.” which is a searchable map of the United States that identifies hundreds of cancer risk “hotspots” across the country. ProPublica accompanied the map with an article documenting the methodology used to develop it, which discusses the emission inputs, stack parameters, source and receptor locations, exposure assumptions and toxicity factors input to the Risk-Screening Environmental Indicators (RSEI) model. In addition, in January 2022, EPA issued the “Draft Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) Screening Level Approach for Assessing Ambient Air and Water Exposures to Fenceline Communities” to determine through a conservative screening model if there is potential exposure and risk from these pathways for the under review. These methodologies can be compared to EPA’s process for estimating cancer risk using the Human Exposure Model (HEM) as part of Risk and Technology Reviews (RTRs) conducted for industrial facility emission source categories post-implementation of Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) standards. This presentation will include a discussion of the emissions, stack parameters, source and receptor locations, exposure assumptions and toxicity values used to estimate the cancer risk associated with the inhalation of airborne pollutants. This presentation will compare the methodologies and modeling tools used to determine the inhalation cancer risk for each facility.
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