Improving Methodologies for Cumulative Risk Assessment: A Case Study of Noncarcinogenic Health Risks from Volatile Organic Compounds in Fenceline Communities in Southeastern Pennsylvania.

Abstract

Background: Cumulative risk assessment (CRA) is key to characterizing health risks in fenceline and disadvantaged communities, which face environmental pollution and challenging socioeconomic conditions. Traditional approaches for inclusion of mixtures in CRA are limited and only assess the most sensitive target organ system for each chemical.

Methods: We developed an expanded approach to cumulative risk assessment that considers all known target organ systems associated with a chemical. Specifically, we created a multi-effects toxicity database by a) compiling toxicological and epidemiological data from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry's (ATSDR) Toxicological Profiles and the Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) CompTox Chemicals Dashboard; b) developing a tiering system to prioritize identified data for use in developing toxicity values; and c) accounting for uncertainty to create toxicity values for additional target organ systems. We demonstrated differences between the traditional approach and our expanded approach by using state-of-the-art mobile monitoring data from our Southeastern Pennsylvania Hazardous Air Pollutant Monitoring and Assessment Project (SEPA HAP-MAP) to conduct a cumulative risk assessment.

Results: Of the 32 chemicals quantified in SEPA HAP-MAP, 28 were represented in our multi-effects toxicity database, whereas only 16 were included using a traditional approach. In total, we derived toxicity values for 172 chemical-target organ system combinations. Our expanded approach found neurological, renal, respiratory, endocrine, and systemic risks (hazard index $>1$) in SEPA HAP-MAP fenceline communities, whereas no risks were identified using a traditional approach limited to the most sensitive target organ systems only.

Conclusion: Our results suggest that traditional approaches to CRA underestimate health risks in fenceline and other highly exposed communities and highlight the need for improved methods to inform health-protective and just risk management decisions. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP14696.