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Ms.Lori Duncan <br /> January 11,2012 <br /> RE:2911 E.Fremont St, Stockton,CA <br /> Page 2 of 4 <br /> samples had different sources that the indoor contaminants were derived from the impacted soil underlying <br /> building. The EHD is actually impressed by how similar the contaminant ratios in each of the four <br /> samples resembles the others, despite a distance of approximately 300 feet between the easternmost <br /> outdoor sample and the westernmost indoor sample; could the similarity ofanalytical results among the <br /> four samples be due to a similarity of sources, such as parked vehicles slowly releasing hydrocarbons? <br /> �11¢`��4 ° <br /> L&P Response: L&P agrees that the number of samples is too few to make ch a statistical interpretdtton, <br /> and L&P does not claim in the report to have made a statistical interpretati n. L&P merely compared the <br /> ratios of the constituents in ambient air samples to those in the indoor airs ples,which is a common step <br /> in evaluating potential vapor intrusion risk at a given site(Cal/EPA-DTS Guidance Document,October <br /> 2011). Differences in ratios may infer different sources for the chemicals. L&P evaluated these ratios in a <br /> manner similar to analytical laboratories' use of relative percent difference (RPD) of matrix spike and <br /> matrix spike duplicate analyses for quality control. In this regard,most analytical laboratories consider an <br /> RPD of either 25%or 30%considered an acceptable range. When comparing the RPDs of the ratios of the <br /> two outdoor air samples, the RPDs range from 0.25% to 20.04%, which L&P considers within the <br /> acceptable range(<25%). Similarly,in comparing the RPDs of the ratios of the two indoor air samples,the <br /> RPDs range from 0.24%to 20.69%. To compare the ratios of the indoor air to outdoor air in an attempt to <br /> infer whether their sources differ,L&P calculated the RPDs of the average ratios of the two indoor samples <br /> to the average ratios of the two outdoor samples. In this evaluation,the RPDs of the averages ranged from <br /> 2.81% to 71.30%, with 9 of the 15 evaluated RPDs exceeding 25% (please see Table 1). Thus, L&P <br /> concluded that the chemicals in indoor air have a somewhat different source than the chemicals in ambient <br /> air. One would assume that if the source of contaminants from all sample locations are from parked <br /> vehicles, as postulated in your letter, then the RPDs between indoor and outdoor samples would all be <br /> within an acceptable range(<25%). Regardless of the source of the chemicals detected in the indoor and <br /> outdoor air samples collected at the site,the end result is that each sample contained low levels of volatile <br /> constituents that are known to exist both in the subsurface,as documented by soil samples collected at the <br /> site,and in ambient air due to the nature and location of the business(equipment rental yard with fuel tanks <br /> and repair bays on a busy surface street). <br /> 3. L&P stated that they modified the CHHSLs from the residential scenario to an indoor worker scenario <br /> by modifying the default parameters. The EHD notes that the CHHSLs and ESLs utilized in Table 3 of the <br /> report were Tier I values derived for commercial/industrial land use. The EHD was not party to <br /> modifying the input parameters and is not aware ofwhat the modified parameters were changed from and <br /> what authoritative source was used to set the modified parameters; please provide this information. <br /> Please also note how these values specifically were changed. <br /> L&P Response: L&P did not make any modifications to the CHHSLs,which are threshold concentrations <br /> established by Cal/EPA-OEHHA,below which are considered to pose no undue risk to site workers. As <br /> stated in the report, L&P conducted a Tier 1 risk evaluation by comparing detected concentrations of <br /> chemicals in both indoor air and outdoor air to the CHHSLs established by Cal/EPA-OEHHA. Since <br /> benzene in all ambient and indoor air samples exceeded the CHHSL for indoor air in a commercial setting, <br /> L&P progressed to a Tier 2 risk evaluation. The Tier 2 risk evaluation did not entail modifying any <br /> CHHSLs. The Tier 2 risk evaluation conducted by L&P entailed calculating site specific risk using <br /> 10759-LTR Response <br />