The Pennsylvania Statewide Health Standards refers to the concentrations of substances under regulation related to a specific environmental medium, denoted as medium-specific concentrations (MSCs). The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) is responsible for formulating and updating the Statewide Health Standards. Outlined in the standards are soil and groundwater MSCs. The standards have Appendix A with Tables 1-4 and 6, which contains the values used for determining MSCs. Content incorporated in these tables includes MSC values for organic regulated substances in groundwater, inorganic substances in groundwater, organic regulated substances (direct contact values and soil-to-ground values), inorganic regulated substances in soil (direct contact values and soil-to-ground values), physical and toxicological properties (organic regulated substances and inorganic regulated substances), and threshold of regulation compounds. These tables reflect the revisions made to the statewide health standards published in the PA Bulletin on August 27, 2016. The updates include toxicological information of about 390 chemical substances.
The Land Recycling Program (Act 2) is significant for the enforcement of Statewide Health Standards since it contains standards, procedures, and guidance essential for assessment, characterization, and remediation processes. Therefore, PA Statewide Health Standards for soil and groundwater serves to protect human health and the environment by providing guidelines and procedures for assessment and remediation. The standards apply to property use, and site developers utilize them in development processes. The concentrations for both residential and non-residential properties should conform to the stipulated values. Compliance is necessary for the safe use of such properties. In some circumstances, remediation strategies are required to address environmental concerns. The standards used in characterization incorporates scientific standards, principles and procedures. The land planning process must include the Statewide Health Standards to ensure it meets the desired threshold for regulated substance concentrations.
Vapor intrusion guidelines are suitable for constructors as they design buildings on specific sites. Factors considered include Significant Foundation Opening (SFO), Potential VI Source, Proximity Distance, Point of Application (POA), External Preferential Pathway, and Preferential Pathway. In general, vapor intrusion standards and guidelines protect human health by ensuring that people are protected from volatile substances found in soil and groundwater.
Pennsylvania’s Environmental Standards are now compiled and available in ESdat at https://www.esdat.net/Environmental_Standards.aspx or by synching against our reference system.
Pennsylvania’s Statewide Health Standards (Soil and Water)
ESdat is a specialist environmental database system; used to validate and import a broad spectrum of Environmental Data and to help users analyze and report it.
Environmental Standards. All compiled environmental guidelines and standards are shown on the ESdat website. These are pre-loaded into ESdat Online.
References
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (2021). Standards, Guidance and Procedures. Retrieved from https://www.dep.pa.gov/Business/Land/LandRecycling/Standards-Guidance-Procedures/Pages/default.aspx
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (2021). Statewide Health Standards. Retrieved from https://www.dep.pa.gov/Business/Land/LandRecycling/Standards-Guidance-Procedures/Pages/Statewide-Health-Standards.aspx
