6. Range of Protection Measures Considered and Evaluation of Protection Measures

Protection Measures Considered Education Programs: Public Meetings, Brochures and Newsletters, School-Based Programs, Posting No Trespassing Signs   Public Health Programs: Health Monitoring and Home Visits or One-on-One Intervention   Individual Protection Measures: Personal Hygiene Practices, Washing Garden Vegetables and Fruit, Reducing Dirt and Dust Inside the Home   Land Use Controls: Permits and Licenses, Deed and Plat Notices, Real Estate Disclosure Forms and Practices   Physical Barriers: Fencing, Vegetative Cover, Wood Chip Cover, Clean Soil Cover, Pavement   Contamination Reduction: Soil Blending/Tilling, Soil Removal and Replacement, Phytoremediation

Part of the charge to the Task Force was to consider the full range of protection measures that might be used to respond to area-wide soil contamination and to make recommendations about the most appropriate responses. To organize their discussions, the Task Force identified six categories of protection measures:

• Education programs refer to broad-based, community-wide efforts to inform individuals and businesses of the presence of contamination and changes in behavior that can be made to limit or reduce exposure to the contamination. Such programs use a wide range of techniques to distribute information and increase public awareness.
  
• Public health programs involve activities designed to identify and focus protection measures to prevent or reduce certain disease outcomes or exposure risks for communities. Targeted populations within a community considered to be at high risk often receive additional public health assistance. This often includes health monitoring activities (e.g., blood lead testing or urinary arsenic screening), one-on-one education on steps to reduce exposure, and intervention activities to reduce sources contributing to elevated exposures.
  
• Individual protection measures are simple, day-to-day things that individuals can do to limit or reduce exposure to soil contaminants. Examples include washing hands with soap and water frequently, removing shoes before entering homes, using gloves while gardening, scrubbing fruits and vegetables before eating them, wet mopping to clean surfaces indoors, and frequently bathing pets and washing toddler toys.
  
• Land-use controls are actions by government or private agreements that provide information on the presence of contamination on a property and/or that limit or prohibit activities that could result in exposure to contaminants. Examples include zoning, permits and licenses, covenants, easements, deed and plat notices, and real-estate disclosures.
  
• Physical barriers prevent or limit exposure to contaminated soil or unauthorized access to a property. Examples include fences, grass cover, wood chips, clean soil cover, geotextile fabric barriers (used under wood chips or clean soil cover), and pavement. Contaminated soil might be consolidated into a smaller area of a property and then covered with a physical barrier such as a parking lot, building, or landscape berm.
  
• Contamination reduction involves reducing the concentration of contaminants in soil through activities such as soil blending or tilling or phytoremediation, or removing contaminated soil for disposal at another location.

The Task Force identified four criteria for evaluation of protection measures: effectiveness at limiting human exposure, effectiveness at limiting exposure of ecological receptors (plants, wildlife), cost, and practicality. To support Task Force deliberations, the contractor project team researched specific protection measures within each category and rated each protection measure according to the Task Force's criteria. Each protection measure considered was rated for three land-use scenarios: a 0.2-acre residential property, a 2-acre residential property, and a 20-acre undeveloped property. The results of this evaluation are summarized in Appendix J.

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