What is S-risk?
S-risk is a model that can be used to assess the exposure and human health risks at contaminated sites. It was developed by VITO in consultation with OVAM. The tool is available as a flexible web application in which the user can specify and simulate generic scenarios to specific case studies. For these case studies, the user can choose between three types of application.
- Type l: Calculatation of generic soil remediation values;
- Type ll: Site-specific risk assessment - human risks will be calculated based on soil and/or groundwater concentration measurements;
- Type lll: Proposal of site-specific remediation objectives.
To do this, S-Risk provides a list of chemicals, parameters and scenario's which can be easily modified by the user to adapt the data to a specific case study, based on the type of land use that is present on site. The fate and distribution of chemical pollutants in the soil are calculated according to the principles of steady-state conservation of mass.
How to use S-risk?
Today, two regional S-risk versions are available: one following the Flemish and Brussels regulatory context and one following the Walloon regulatory context. On demand, VITO is willing to implement other national or regional versions based on the same overall framework. The tool is not free of use and registration is mandatory. More information can be found on the S-Risk website.
Once you have access to the platform, different simulations can be generated for contaminated sites. For each simulation, the requested input parameter values should be entered. These values are related to the site contamination profile as well as the exposure pathways and parameters of the contaminants. The model calculates concentrations in ambient and indoor air due to volatilization and soil resuspension, in drinking water from leaching or permeation, in food due to plant and animal uptake. Exposures are predicted for the inhalation route (ambient, indoor, bathroom air), oral (water, food, soil, dust) and dermal (water, soil, dust) route. Risks are calculated by comparing exposures with toxicological reference values and concentrations with toxicological or legal reference concentrations.
The results are provided in different formats (i.e. PDF, Excel) and can be downloaded to store for later use. This includes the results per chemical (i.e. risk indexes, concentration indexes, an overview of the exposure) and a summary on the conceptual site model. You can find more information in the S-Risk manual.
Why is S-risk included in the Orion tool?
Landfills are composed of waste materials and hence, they can form certain risks towards the environment and/or human health. The risks associated with old landfills mainly depend on the waste composition of the landfill and the exposure of contaminants towards people and the environment. These risks should be identified and assessed in function of the (future) land use, when considering the rehabilitation or valorisation of old landfills. In this way, it should be guaranteed that a potential rehabilitation or valorisation project does not pose any threats to its surroundings. If the S-risk tool shows that the risks are too high, remediation measures should be taken in order to control impact and minimize negative effects.
Organizations included in the development of S-risk
