Building the Foundation for Environmental Risk
Assessmentat the Marcus Hook Refinery
Using Geographic Information Systems
By Andrew Paul Romanek, M.S.E, Lesley Hay Wilson, and David R.
Maidment
ABSTRACT
This research presents a digitally-based methodology for approaching
environmental risk assessments at large and complex industrial facilities,
using the Marcus Hook Refinery in Pennsylvania as a case study site.
The goal of this study is to demonstrate the development of a "digital
facility description" and its use as an effective environmental
risk assessment tool. The digital facility description is the collection
of physical, chemical, geological, and hydrogeological information that
has been spatially referenced in a geographic information system (GIS).
It provides the mechanism to analyze sources and potential receptors
in a spatial framework and to evaluate exposure pathways with models.
The digital facility description has two components: (1) a spatial database
of regional and facility features, and (2) a relational tabular database
of environmental measurements. These two databases are dynamically linked
providing a means of evaluating both spatial and temporal relationships.
The digital facility description is used to support environmental risk
assessment activities, such as map-based modeling and exposure analysis.
Specifically, a surface water runoff model and a groundwater model were
developed for Marcus Hook. Additionally, source area concentrations
and the probabilities that these concentrations are above target levels
were analyzed using "risk maps."
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