Risk Evaluation of Lead in Soil and Groundwater at the H. Brown Superfund Site in Walker, Michigan
SourceA remedial investigation was conducted at a lead battery recycling facility in Walker, Michigan. The soil and groundwater are contaminated with high concentrations of lead. A baseline risk assessment was complicated by the lack of toxicity values for lead. The risk assessment compared on-site concentrations and worker blood levels of lead with concentrations and blood levels shown to result in adverse health effects. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Lead Uptake/Biokinetic Model was also used to calculate potential blood lead levels in children on-site and in nearby neighborhoods. On-site exposures for workers, future residents, and workers adjacent to the site were concluded to be unacceptably high. For children in nearby neighborhoods the exposures do not appear to be significant.