Soil and Land Contamination Flashcards
6 cards from real Environmental Compliance Inspector practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Soil and Land Contamination flashcards as text
When evaluating soil contamination from a lead smelter, which exposure pathway is typically the primary concern for residential land use?
Answer: Ingestion of contaminated soil by children
For lead-contaminated soil at residential sites, incidental soil ingestion by children is the critical exposure pathway because children have hand-to-mouth behavior and greater bioavailability of lead.
Under CERCLA, what is a Potentially Responsible Party (PRP)?
Answer: Any party that may be liable for cleanup costs including current owners, past owners, generators, or transporters
CERCLA imposes strict, joint and several liability on four classes of PRPs: current owners/operators, past owners/operators, generators who arranged for disposal, and transporters who selected the disposal site.
What is the significance of vapor intrusion in soil contamination investigations?
Answer: It describes the migration of volatile contaminants from subsurface soil or groundwater into overlying buildings
Vapor intrusion occurs when volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in contaminated soil or groundwater migrate as vapors through the subsurface into buildings, creating indoor air quality concerns.
A compliance inspector discovers discolored soil and a petroleum odor near an old UST. What is the first action to document?
Answer: Photograph and GPS-coordinate the observation, recording depth, color, odor, and extent in the field log
Thorough field documentation — photos, GPS coordinates, descriptive observations of color, odor, and apparent extent — must be completed before any other action to create an accurate compliance record.
Which cleanup standard applies when contaminated soil will remain on-site under a cap rather than being removed?
Answer: Risk-based cleanup levels combined with institutional and engineering controls
When soil is capped in place, risk-based cleanup levels are used alongside engineering controls (the cap) and institutional controls (deed restrictions) to prevent exposure.
The Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) is used to determine whether contaminated soil is classified as what?
Answer: A characteristic hazardous waste under RCRA
TCLP simulates leaching in a landfill environment; if the leachate exceeds regulatory thresholds for listed metals or organics, the soil exhibits the toxicity characteristic and is classified as RCRA hazardous waste.