Last update:
08/30/2006
Environmental management is becoming increasingly dependent on quantitative analysis of environmental and health risks associated with exposure to chemical contaminants. Exposure to chemical pollutants can occur via primary pathways (e.g., inhalation of polluted air or drinking contaminated water) and/or secondary pathways (e.g., ingestion of contaminated food) and therefore requires information on chemical distribution in the environment. The distribution of chemicals in the multimedia environment is the consequence of complex physical, chemical, and biological processes. For example, a chemical that is released to the atmosphere can be deposited onto vegetation, soil, and surface water by both dry and wet deposition. Multimedia field monitoring of all chemicals of concern is not feasible. Therefore, multimedia models of pollutant fate and transport are attractive tools for assessing the potential for multimedia impact of chemical pollutants.
Clearly, the environment is a complex system in which a•ll media interact directly or indirectly. •A detailed and exact description of the complete multimedia environment using deterministic models may not be realizable due to varying spatial and temporal scales. Therefore, levels of required spatial and temporal resolution have to be established for specific problems. In the multimedia systems approach one has to account for the important processes that govern system behavior. In the present project, a new modeling approach that extends the modeling approach developed at UCLA will be adapted. The approach will integrate a number of recent deterministic models of chemical transport via object-oriented programming. The goal is to develop a flexible yet practical modeling environment. The approach will be applied to a "real world" analyses that will include a major rocket testing facility as well as pesticide distribution in a number of local regions.
References:
Cohen, Y. and E. J. Cooter, "Multimedia Environmental Distribution of Toxics (Mend-Tox). I: Hybrid Compartmental-Spatial Modeling Framework," Practice Periodicals of Hazardous, Toxic and Radioactive Waste Management, 6, 70-86 (2002).
Cohen, Y. and E. J. Cooter, "Multimedia Environmental Distribution of Toxics (Mend-Tox). II: HSoftware Implementation and Case Studies" Practice Periodicals of Hazardous, Toxic and Radioactive Waste Management, 6, 87-101 (2002).
Yaffe, D., Y. Cohen, J. Arey and A. J. Grosovsky, "Multimedia Analysis of PAHs and Nitro-PAH Daughter Products in the Los Angeles Basin", Risk Analysis, 21, 275-294 (2001)
Multimedia System (above) and Model Development (below)
