• Skip to main content
itrc_logo

Bioavailability of Contaminants in Soil: Considerations for Human Health Risk Assessment

Home
About ITRC
Navigating this Website
1 Introduction
1 Introduction Overview
1.1 Using Bioavailability Information
1.2 Background
1.3 Definition of Terms
2 Regulatory Background
2 Regulatory Background Overview
2.1 Current Practices: Survey of State Regulators
3 Technical Background
3 Technical Background Overview
3.1 Soil Mineral Phases
3.2 Soil pH, Organic Matter, and Reactive Clay Minerals
3.3 Soil Particle Size
4 Decision Process
4 Decision Process Overview
4.1 Decision Process Flowchart
4.2 Is there a Method Available?
4.3 Could Bioavailability Assessment Affect the Remedial Decisions?
4.4 Do the Benefits of Bioavailability Assessment Justify the Costs?
4.5 Further Considerations
5 Methodology
5 Methodology for Evaluating Contaminant Oral Bioavailability Overview
5.1 In Vivo Approach
5.2 In Vitro Approach
6 Lead
6 Lead Overview
6.1 Fate and Transport
6.2 Toxicology and Exposure
6.3 Methodology for Quantifying RBA of Lead in Soil
6.4 When Does a Bioavailability Study Make Sense?
6.5 Case Studies
6.6 Using Bioavailability Methods to Evaluate Remedies (Bioavailability-Based Remediation)
7 Arsenic
7 Arsenic Overview
7.1 Fate and Transport
7.2 Toxicology and Exposure
7.3 Methodology for Evaluating Arsenic Bioavailability
7.4 When Does It Make Sense to Use Bioavailability?
7.5 Case Studies
7.6 Using Bioavailability Methods to Evaluate Remedies (Bioavailability Based Remediation)
8 PAHs
8 Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) Overview
8.1 PAH Sources and Exposure
8.2 General Toxicity of PAHs
8.3 Influences of Soil on Bioavailability of PAH
8.4 Methodology for Evaluating PAH Bioavailability
8.5 Dermal Absorption
8.6 Amendment Strategies and Permanence of Bioavailability
8.7 Case Study
9 Risk Assessment
9 Using Bioavailability Information in Risk Assessment Overview
9.1 Risk Calculations
9.2 Other Considerations and Limitations
10 Stakeholder Perspectives
10 Stakeholder Perspectives Overview
10.1 Stakeholder Concerns
10.2 Specific Tribal Stakeholder Concerns
10.3 Stakeholder Engagement
11 Case Studies
11 Case Studies Overview
11.1 Arsenic, Mining, CA
11.2 Arsenic, Pesticide, AR
11.3 Arsenic, Naturally occurring, UT
11.4 Arsenic, Smelter, AZ
11.5 Arsenic-contaminated tailings, OR
11.6 Lead, Industrial, Midwest US
11.7 PAH, Skeet targets, TX
11.8 Arsenic, Copper precipitation, UT
11.9 Arsenic, CCA wood preservative, CA
11.10 Arsenic, MGP coal ash, MI
11.11 Lead, Mining MT
11.12 Lead, Mining, MT
11.13 Lead, Smelter, UT
Additional Information
Review Checklist
Appendix A: Detailed Survey Responses
Appendix B: Chemical Reactions of Metals
Acronyms
Glossary
Acknowledgments
Team Contacts
Document Feedback

 

Bioavailability of Contaminants in Soil
HOME

Navigating this Website

Frequently Asked Questions

How does the navigation work?
▼Read more

For the left-hand navigation, to open or close a topic, click on it. A triangle symbol means the topic is closed, while a dash means its open. When a topic is open, it moves to the top of the left-hand navigation pane, and its subtopics are shown. Click on any subtopic to open it. To see the other topics above the one that is open, close the topic.

On a mobile device, the menu appears as three dashed lines at the top of the page. Click on the three dashed lines to open the menu.

Why are there two different types of Read More links?
▼Read more

There are two levels of Read more/Read less in the document. The first level has an orange triangle to the left of the blue Read more link, when you click on the link the additional text is revealed and the link text says Read Less. The orange triangle is still to the left of the Read less link.

The second level of Read more/Read less is inside the first level and has a black downward caret with an orange Read More link. When the Read More link is selected the additional text is revealed and the caret changes to an upward caret. Once the Read More link has been selected the text changes to black. The text is still Read More.

How do I view separate parts of the document in separate screens?
▼Read more

Open the section of interest. Right click on the link for the second section of interest. Select “Open link in a new window with navigation”. This approach works for any link you wish to view in a separate window.

What is the suggested citation for this document?
▼Read more

Permission is granted to refer to or quote from this publication with the customary acknowledgment of the source. The suggested citation for this document is as follows:

ITRC (Interstate Technology & Regulatory Council). 2017. Bioavailability of Contaminants in Soil: Considerations for Human Health Risk Assessment. BCS-1. Washington, D.C.: Interstate Technology & Regulatory Council, Bioavailability in Contaminated Soil Team. www.itrcweb.org.

How do I access the BCS-1 website (what is the site URL)?
▼Read more

To access the new BCS-1 Tech-Reg website, you can visit http://www.itrcweb.org/bcs-1 or https://bcs-1.itrcweb.org/. Both URLs point to the same website, one is just an alias of the other.

Linked sections are opening in new windows and not new tabs. How do I change the behavior?
▼Read more

In your browser, find the settings for opening pages in tabs instead of windows. In Internet Explorer, go to Tools>Internet Options>Tabs>Settings and select “Always open pop-ups in a new tab”. For Safari, there are three choices for opening pages in tabs: Automatically, Never, Always. In Firefox or Google Chrome, all links automatically open in a new tab.

Can I bookmark parts of this guidance?
▼Read more

You can bookmark sections of this guidance. Each section has a unique URL, so it can be shared, emailed, or saved in the browser bookmarks (as you would save a normal browser favorite or bookmark).

How do I print from this document?
▼Read more

To print material from the website, use the Print this page link at the bottom of each page.

How do I view glossary terms? How do I close a popup? What do the Internal links look like?
▼Read more

Glossary terms
Mouse over glossary terms to open definition. Mouse away from the popup box to close definition. Glossary terms are shown in the document as bold, orange text that is underlined with a dotted line. The entire glossary is linked at the footer and in the Additional Information.

Using popups
The references are linked as popups in this document. When you click a reference, the popup material will appear in front of the text that you were reading, and the text will be grayed out in the background. To return to the text, click anywhere in the gray area surrounding the popup. The full References list is linked at the footer.

Internal links
The internal links to different places on the document are shown as bold, blue text that is underlined with a solid line.

Can I keep a Read More open when I navigate to a new page?
▼Read more

Suppose you have a “read more” section open and then click a link to another section. If you then click the “back” arrow, the “read more” section that was previously open is then closed. When you use a back arrow, the page reloads and all “read mores” are closed on the reload. It may be helpful to review the answer to “How do I view separate parts of the document in separate screens.

image_pdfPrint this page/section



BCS

web document
glossaryBCS Glossary
referencesBCS References
acronymsBCS Acronyms
ITRC
Contact Us
About ITRC
Visit ITRC
social media iconsClick here to visit ITRC on FacebookClick here to visit ITRC on TwitterClick here to visit ITRC on LinkedInITRC on Social Media
about_itrc
Permission is granted to refer to or quote from this publication with the customary acknowledgment of the source (see suggested citation and disclaimer). This web site is owned by ITRC • 1250 H Street, NW • Suite 850 • Washington, DC 20005 • (202) 266-4933 • Email: [email protected] • Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and Usage Policy ITRC is sponsored by the Environmental Council of the States.