Appendix E - Health Consultation
NYS DOH PROCEDURE FOR EVALUATING POTENTIAL HEALTH RISKS
FOR CONTAMINANTS OF CONCERN
To evaluate the potential health risks from contaminants of concern associated with the Abby Street/Hickory Woods Neighborhood, the New York State Department of Health assessed the risks for cancer and noncancer health effects. The NYS DOH calculated health comparison values for these health effects, for each contaminant and exposure pathway of concern.
Increased cancer risks were estimated by using site-specific information on exposure levels for the contaminant of concern and interpreting them using cancer potency estimates derived for that contaminant by the US EPA or, in some cases, by the NYS DOH. The following qualitative ranking of cancer risk estimates, developed by the NYS DOH, was then used to rank the risk from very low to very high. For example, if the qualitative descriptor was "low", then the excess lifetime cancer risk from that exposure is in the range of greater than one per million to less than one per ten thousand. Other qualitative descriptors are listed below:
Excess Lifetime Cancer Risk
| Risk Ratio | Qualitative Descriptor |
|---|---|
| equal to or less than one per million | very low |
| greater than one per million to less than one per ten thousand | low |
| one per ten thousand to less than one per thousand | moderate |
| one per thousand to less than one per ten | high |
| equal to or greater than one per ten | very high |
An estimated increased excess lifetime cancer risk is not a specific estimate of expected cancers. Rather, it is a plausible upper bound estimate of the probability that a person may develop cancer sometime in his or her lifetime following exposure to that contaminant.
There is insufficient knowledge of cancer mechanisms to decide if there exists a level of exposure to a cancer-causing agent below which there is no risk of getting cancer, namely, a threshold level. Therefore, every exposure, no matter how low, to a cancer-causing compound is assumed to be associated with some increased risk. As the dose of a carcinogen decreases, the chance of developing cancer decreases, but each exposure is accompanied by some increased risk.
There is general consensus among the scientific and regulatory communities on what level of estimated excess cancer risk is acceptable. An increased lifetime cancer risk of one in one million or less is generally not considered a significant public health concern. Health comparison values for cancer health effects are set at this level of risk. Cancer risks greater than one per ten thousand usually trigger actions to lower exposures.
For noncarcinogenic health risks, the contaminant intake was estimated using exposure assumptions for the site conditions. This dose was then compared to a risk reference dose (estimated daily intake of a chemical that is likely to be without an appreciable risk of health effects) developed by the US EPA, ATSDR and/or NYS DOH. The resulting ratio was then compared to the following qualitative scale of health risk:
Qualitative Descriptions for Noncarcinogenic Health Risks
| Ratio of Estimated Contaminant Intake to Risk Reference Dose |
Qualitative Descriptor |
|---|---|
| equal to or less than the risk reference dose | minimal |
| greater than one to five times the risk reference dose | low |
| greater than five to ten times the risk reference dose | moderate |
| greater than ten times the risk reference dose | high |
Noncarcinogenic effects unlike carcinogenic effects are believed to have a threshold, that is, a dose below which adverse effects will not occur. As a result, the current practice is to identify, usually from animal toxicology experiments, a no-observed-effect-level (NOEL). This is the experimental exposure level in animals at which no adverse toxic effect is observed. The NOEL is then divided by an uncertainty factor to yield the risk reference dose. The uncertainty factor is a number which reflects the degree of uncertainty that exists when experimental animal data are extrapolated to the general human population. The magnitude of the uncertainty factor takes into consideration various factors such as sensitive subpopulations (for example, children or the elderly), extrapolation from animals to humans, and the incompleteness of available data. Thus, the risk reference dose is not expected to cause health effects because it is selected to be much lower than dosages that do not cause adverse health effects in laboratory animals.
The measure used to describe the potential for noncancer health effects to occur in an individual is expressed as a ratio of estimated contaminant intake to the risk reference dose. A ratio equal to or less than one is generally not considered a significant public health concern. Health comparison values for noncancer health effects are set at this level. If exposure to the contaminant exceeds the risk reference dose, there may be concern for potential noncancer health effects because the margin of protection is less than that afforded by the reference dose. As a rule, the greater the ratio of the estimated contaminant intake to the risk reference dose, the greater the level of concern. This level of concern depends upon an evaluation of a number of factors such as the actual potential for exposure, background exposure, and the strength of the toxicologic data.