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---:-T- -- " Radiation Therapy The MPCA does not have the expertise nor is charged with assessing the impacts of the release of radiation; the City ofRoseville must contact the Minnesota Depfl11ment of Health, Environmental Health Division, Radiation Control Section to secure information related to this issue. Assessment of Pollutants from Cremation I have examined the health impacts from the inhalation of pollutants releas~d from crematoria, and the environmental impacts from the release of mercury. In 1999, the United States Environmental Protection Agency conducted ext~nsive stack sampling on a crematory in New York state1. A copy of the test results are ~ttached. (Attachment 1). The results ofthis emission test, along with results from an emissions test conducted in California in 19922 were used to assess the impacts from t4e inhalation of pollutants released from crematories. The assessment was conducted on two classes of pollutants: "criteria pollutants" (particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide) for which ambient air quality standards exist. "Toxic" pollutants are those specific chemicals the MPCA has identified as posing a health risk, and are assessed against a toxicity threshold. SCREEN3 is one ofEPA's dispersion models for predicting the resulting ambient concentration of pollution. SCREEN3 was used to predict local ambient air concentrations of pollutants from a crematory. SCREEN3 estimates maximqm 1-hr ground level concentrations. Annual ambient air concentrations are determiIied by multiplying the SCREEN3 model1-hr results by a factor of 0.1, as recommepded by MPCA modeling staff. SCREEN3 reports the location and value of the highest predicted ambient concentration. The model was also asked to report the concentration at 2000m, in order to predict the annual ambient concentration of pollutants in the vicinity of McCarron Lake. A copy of the result ofthe modeling run is attached to this memorandum ("crematory run 4"). The inputs into the model are printed along with the results. Screen modeling is usually done to assess whether further, more refined modeling is necessary. The more refined models use 5 years of actual meteorological data, rather than the default data in the screen modeling. Refined dispersion modeling will likely result in lower ambient concentrations than the ambient concentrations predicted by SCREEN3. I US. EP A. Emission Test Evaluation of a Crematory at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, NY. September 1999. 2 Bay Area Air Quality Management District Permit Handbook. http://www.baaamdgov/permitlhandbook/defaulthtm accessed July 23,2001. 2