Resources to Assist in Assessing Contaminated Sites

A key document setting out national framework for Health Risk Assessment. These guidelines work through the process of health risk assessment and describe how to appraise a health risk assessment prepared by someone else. Final version will be printed and available from October 2001 at www.health.gov.au/pubhlth/strateg/envhlth/risk

National Environment Protection Measures (NEPMs) are broad framework setting statutory instruments defined in the National Environment Protection Council legislation, and are similar to environment protection policies. The National Environment Protection (Assessment of Site Contamination) Measure 1999 consists of goals and standards for contaminated sites, and includes 10 Guidelines on specific aspects of contaminated sites:
Schedule B (1) Guideline on the Investigation Levels for Soil and Groundwater
Schedule B (2) Guideline on Sample Design and Reporting
Schedule B (3) Guideline on Laboratory Analysis of Potentially Contaminated Soils
Schedule B (4) Guideline on Health Risk Assessment Methodology
Schedule B (5) Guideline on Ecological Risk Assessment
Schedule B (6) Guideline on Risk Based Assessment of Groundwater Contamination
Schedule B (7a) Guideline on Health-Based Investigation Levels
Schedule B (7b) Guideline on Exposure Scenarios and Exposure Settings (originally NEHF Monograph Soil Series No. 2)
Schedule B (8) Guideline on Community Consultation and Risk Communication
Schedule B (9) Guideline on Protection of Health and the Environment during the assessment of site contamination
Schedule B (10) Guideline on competencies and acceptance of environmental auditors and related professionals.

Available at www.ephc.gov.au

Guidelines are included on assessing service station sites, assessing banana plantation sites and the site auditor's scheme, among others.

A list of these guidelines is on the EPA website www.epa.nsw.gov.au.
EPA Publications: 131555.

A series of 7 comprehensive publications produced by the Department of Human Services, South Australia, concerning many aspects of contaminated sites. Four compilations are of Contaminated Sites Workshop Proceedings in 1991, 1993, 1996 and 1998. Three other publications include Human Exposure to Soil Contaminants through the consumption of Home-Grown Produce.

Available to purchase via www.ea.gov.au/cooperation/anzecc/pubs_anzecc.html

The Australian Total Diet Survey (previously the Australian Market Basket Survey) is produced by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (formeraly ANZFA) and is a national survey of pesticide residues and contaminants in food.

Available at www.anzfa.gov.au.

NSW Environmental Protection Authority website provides air quality data by Local Government Authority at: www.epa.nsw.gov.au. This site also includes the NSW State of the Environment Report 1997 which contains a chapter on atmosphere, with information about metropolitan air quality and health effects of major air pollutants.

National Environmental Health Forum Air Series - Monographs on benzene, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide.

Available in pdf format through www.enhealth.nphp.gov.au/council/pubs/ecpub.htm

Australian Water Quality Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Waters available at www.ea.gov.au/water/quality/nwqms/index.html

Environmental Health Branch, NSW Health provides access to the TOMES toxicological database: http://csi.micromedex.com (password required). Access should be arranged through your Public Health Unit or the Environmental Health Branch.

In addition, the Micromedex databases can be accessed through the Clinical Information Access Project (CIAP) www.clininfo.health.nsw.gov.au.

The Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB), Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) and other toxicology databases may be accessed through the US National Library of Medicine http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov.

Further information can be found at the National Pollutant Inventory: http://www.npi.gov.au/

NSW Cancer Council produces annual statistical reports and epidemiology research reports eg. cancer maps by local government area.

Available at http://www.nswcc.org.au

Environmental Health Information Service www.ehis.niehs.nih.gov provides environmental health information, including access to the TOMES-PLUS toxicological databases and access to abstracts from Environmental Health Perspectives journal. Environmental Health Branch subscribes to this journal-contact the Branch for access.

Environmental Health Risk Perception in Australia: A research report to the enHealth council available at www.health.gov.au/pubhlth/publicat/environ.htm