CAREER: Vapor Intrusion, Knowledge Brokers and Environmental Health - A Three-Dimensional Perspective

University Of Kentucky Research Foundation, Lexington KY

Investigators

Abstract

1452800 PI: Pennell, Kelly CAREER: Vapor Intrusion, Knowledge Brokers and Environmental Health - A Three-Dimensional Perspective The average person spends 90 % of their time indoors, which makes indoor air quality extremely important. There are many sources of indoor air contamination, but one that is too often overlooked is the transport of subsurface vapors into indoor air spaces (i.e. vapor intrusion).Vapor intrusion is notoriously difficult to characterize because extremely low chemical concentrations in indoor air are health-relevant and modeling indoor air and subsurface environments requires sophisticated approaches. This project will bridge the gap that exists between air transport modeling of above ground spaces and subsurface spaces. The research introduces a novel approach, where for the first time a volatile organic chemical vapor intrusion model will incorporate atmospheric, indoor and subsurface environments, in an effort to address unexplained preliminary field data collected by the PI, as well as some recent reports of unexplained field observations in the literature. Since vapor intrusion regulations are rapidly emerging, new knowledge generated must be translated by scientists and engineers to engage with key stakeholders, quickly and effectively. The educational goal of this proposal is to train students as knowledge brokers to build bridges between academic researchers and key stakeholders, such as regulators, professionals, legislators, and community members. The modeling will involve computational fluid dynamic approaches. The field data sets include variations in indoor air concentrations and soil gas concentrations that are inconsistent with existing numerical models. Qualitatively, the field data does not mimic the current conceptual understanding of vapor intrusion, which makes current vapor intrusion models extremely limited in their ability to describe field observations. The proposed model will advance the field of environmental engineering by establishing important, and previously omitted connections between the subsurface and aboveground domains that are relevant for environmental fate and transport. Moreover, vapor intrusion characterization also requires scientific knowledge from many different disciplines (e.g. soil scientists, industrial hygienists, analytical chemists, environmental engineers) to fully understand the matter. This project will develop a new vapor intrusion modeling technique that combines subsurface fate and transport modeling with mechanical and industrial engineering approaches for modeling aboveground air transport. Research results will be integrated into vapor intrusion assessment practices, so that exposure risks are assessed using accurate science-based methods. The results of the research will be shared with relevant stakeholders to ensure research results gain relevancy for policy decisions.