Documentation of the Ecological Risk Assessment Computer Model ECORSK.5

• Main Authors: Gallegos, Anthony F., Gonzales, Gilbert J.
• Other Authors: United States. Department of Energy. Assistant Secretary for Environment, Safety, and Health.
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: Los Alamos National Laboratory 1999
• Subjects: Information Systems; Us Epa; Computers; Mathematical Models; 29 Energy Planning; Policy And Economy; Environmental Impact Statements; Documentation; 54 Environmental Sciences; Risk Assessment; peregrine falcon
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.2172/9415; https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc794864/

The FORTRAN77 ecological risk computer model--ECORSK.5--has been used to estimate the potential toxicity of surficial deposits of radioactive and non-radioactive contaminants to several threatened and endangered (T and E) species at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). These analyses to date include preliminary toxicity estimates for the Mexican spotted owl, the American peregrine falcon, the bald eagle, and the southwestern willow flycatcher. This work has been performed as required for the Record of Decision for the construction of the Dual Axis Radiographic Hydrodynamic Test (DARHT) Facility at LANL as part of the Environmental Impact Statement. The model is dependent on the use of the geographic information system and associated software--ARC/INFO--and has been used in conjunction with LANL's Facility for Information Management and Display (FIMAD) contaminant database. The integration of FIMAD data and ARC/INFO using ECORSK.5 allows the generation of spatial information from a gridded area of potential exposure called an Ecological Exposure Unit. ECORSK.5 was used to simulate exposures using a modified Environmental Protection Agency Quotient Method. The model can handle a large number of contaminants within the home range of T and E species. This integration results in the production of hazard indices which, when compared to risk evaluation criteria, estimate the potential for impact from consumption of contaminants in food and ingestion of soil. The assessment is considered a Tier-2 type of analysis. This report summarizes and documents the ECORSK.5 code, the mathematical models used in the development of ECORSK.5, and the input and other requirements for its operation. Other auxiliary FORTRAN 77 codes used for processing and graphing output from ECORSK.5 are also discussed. The reader may refer to reports cited in the introduction to obtain greater detail on past applications of ECORSK.5 and assumptions used in deriving model parameters.