Groundwater Monitoring & Remediation® is issuing a call for papers for its next focus issue which will be titled “Advancements in Vapor Intrusion Risk Assessment.”
More than 30 years has passed since vapor intrusion (VI) was first identified as a human exposure pathway. Since then, VI has become a critical element of many environmental risk assessments conducted at sites with volatile organic compounds present in the subsurface.
Three-plus decades of site investigations and field studies have been key in helping inform and guide the regulatory and scientific communities on VI risk-related issues. One of the key takeaways from these studies is that the VI conceptual site model (CSM) is extremely complex, especially for chemicals such as chlorinated solvents and other compounds that do not readily biodegrade aerobically. The complexity of the CSM for such compounds is largely generated by sensitivities to vapor transport occurring in and around building structures, via preferential pathways, and from numerous background (non-VI) sources in indoor and outdoor air.
Although our collective understanding of VI issues has advanced, uncertainties abound that limit our ability to implement simple solutions or avoid superfluous site characterization and remediation efforts.
GWMR last published a focus issue on VI in 2009, and, since then, the science on VI risk assessment has evolved considerably. GWMR is now seeking to chronicle this science via the new focus issue which intends to bolster technically defensible risk-based decision making and steer the direction of future research.
The focus issue will be led by guest editors Matthew Lahvis, Shell Global Solutions U.S. Inc.; Chase Holton, Geosyntec Consultants; and Henry Schuver, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency RCRA Cleanup Program.
The focus issue seeks to capture both recent scientific developments and a wealth of good, ad hoc, science presented at technical symposia that could benefit from peer-reviewed publication. GWMR welcomes manuscript submissions on one or more of the following topics:
- Risk assessment and screening methodologies
- Sampling and rapid diagnostic tools
- Empirical data assessments
- Preferential pathways
- Emerging constituents of concern
- Background sources
- Mathematical modeling and validation
- Biodegradation
- Case studies
- Regulatory and public perspectives.
GWMR is currently targeting publication of this focus issue for the Winter 2021 issue.
Please send a brief synopsis of your proposed manuscript to
GWMR Editor-in Chief Neil Thomson at
gwmredit@uwaterloo.ca by
August 20, 2020. All manuscript submissions will be subject to the normal
GWMR peer-review process.