Documentation for the Human Health Impact Module of the Multimedia Environmental Pollutant Assessment System (MEPAS)
Title Page
Legal Notice
Table of Contents
Introduction
Requirements
Design
Quality Assurance and Testing
1.0 Introduction
This documentation provides information on a component of the Multimedia Environmental Pollutant Assessment System (MEPAS), including requirements, design and specifications or formulations, and quality assurance and testing. MEPAS is an integrated impact assessment software comprising physics-based fate and transport models of air, soil, and water media. Outputs are estimates of exposures and health risk assessments for radioactive and hazardous pollutants.
MEPAS simulates the release of contaminants from a source; transport through the air, groundwater, surface water, and/or overland pathways; and transfer through food chains and exposure pathways to the exposed individual or population. For human health impacts, risks are computed for carcinogens and hazard quotients for noncarcinogens.
MEPAS is implemented on a desktop computer with a user-friendly interface that allows the user to define the problem, input the required data, and execute the appropriate models for both deterministic and probabilistic analyses.
The various MEPAS components were originally designed as a suite of tools. They have been specifically revised as objects for inclusion in the Framework for Risk Analysis in Multimedia Environmental Systems (FRAMES), which is a software platform that allows for the linking of various modules into complete emission, transport, and exposure assessment systems (Whelan et al. 1997. PNNL-11748).
Portions of this documentation may have been previously issued in reports from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), operated by Battelle for the U.S. Department of Energy. All PNNL reports are issued a tracking number. Multiple numbers on the title page of this documentation indicate the numbers of these previous reports.
This documentation can be used by software engineers and testers to ensure that each component functions properly. The information can also be used by analysts and managers to better understand the component's use within FRAMES.
