(685d) Determining Chemical Release Profiles By Rapid Estimation Methods

Rapid estimation methods can be used to determine the chemical release profiles of a chemical of interest. This chemical release profile provides information needed for chemical screening and contributing to more complete risk assessments. Looking over the life-cycle of where a chemical could be released, methods are needed to estimate emissions and water discharges for the extraction, manufacturing, transport, processing, use, and end-of-life phases. Paying attention to both accuracy and the level of required effort, the estimation methods to use can depend on circumstances. An approach will be described that combines four efforts developed in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, focusing on those advanced by the Office of Research and Development. The first effort uses EPA data sources and ways to use top-down data mining to extract and subsequently manipulate the data into release profiles. The second effort applies EPA’s ChemSTEER software, generic scenarios, and bottom-up simulation methods, which define material flows and allow for the estimation of emissions. The third effort estimates releases through proxies based on properties of similar chemicals with respect to release profiles. Finally, a reconciliation effort will provide appropriate methods for determining which methods to use.

The views expressed in this presentation are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.