Apr 28 2008
Environmental Data Resources, Inc. (EDR), the leading U.S. provider of environmental risk information services and solutions, today announced the results of a poll indicating a high level of awareness of the health, investment and liability risks associated with vapor intrusion. The poll also showed that environmental professionals (EPs), property buyers and lenders are eager to apply the recently approved ASTM standard practice for vapor intrusion assessment to address these concerns.
More than 500 EPs from environmental consulting and engineering firms across the U.S. participated in the poll. Of these, 95.2 percent stated that they plan to speak with their customers (who include property buyers, owners, and commercial lenders) about vapor intrusion and how best to manage the risk that it presents. Moreover, more than half of EPs (51.5 percent) indicated that their customers had already asked them about vapor intrusion. Fewer than one in three respondents (29.5 percent) stated that their firm already had an internal training program on vapor intrusion.
Vapor intrusion is an indoor air quality hazard that has emerged as a significant environmental and health issue in recent years. It occurs when rapidly evaporating (volatile) chemicals migrate from polluted soil and groundwater in the form of vapors into overlying buildings. Thousands of properties nationwide are potentially at risk for vapor intrusion. Potential sources of vapor intrusion include current or former industrial facilities, gas stations, and drycleaners.
Since the approval of the ASTM vapor intrusion standard on March 1, 2008, EDR has been providing resources to help EPs apply the new standard. In addition to publications and training resources, the company has introduced the EDR Vapor Intrusion Screen, an interactive online worksheet that assists EPs in applying the unique search distances and other data evaluation criteria mandated by the new standard.
The "Standard Practice for Assessment of Vapor Intrusion into Structures Involved in Real Estate Transactions" (ASTM E 2600-08) is the first nationwide industry standard enabling a consistent methodology for screening, evaluating, and mitigating properties for vapor intrusion risk. Prior to the approval of this standard, the real estate industry had no consistent method for efficiently screening properties for vapor intrusion conditions and avoiding situations that might put individuals at risk.
"Vapor intrusion has long been a concern among real estate professionals who lacked guidelines for identifying and working with this threat, so we are happy to see a standard that raises public awareness of the health and investment concerns caused by this growing issue," said EDR CEO Rob Barber. "As this poll confirms, many environmental professionals and their customers are eager to apply the new standard to respond to the growing concern about vapor intrusion risk."
EDR administered the poll to EPs during online conference presentations in March and April 2008 entitled "Vapor Intrusion: Understanding the New ASTM Standard." The featured speaker during these presentations was Anthony Buonicore, PE, BCEE, QEP, Chairman of the ASTM Vapor Intrusion Task Group, which developed the new industry standard.
ASTM International is a voluntary standards development organization. Its Vapor Intrusion Task Group, which began work on the new standard in 2005, has more than 100 active members, including regulators, environmental consultants, lawyers, lenders, property owners, developers and investors. For more information about ASTM International, visit http://www.astm.org.