Rivrisk: A Model to Assess Potential Human Health and Ecological Risks from Chemical and Thermal Releases into Rivers

RIVRISK, an interactive Windows™-based model, predicts ambient chemical concentrations, human health and ecological risks, and water temperatures due to chemical and thermal releases into rivers. RIVRISK simulates chemicals that enter rivers from pipes, through submerged diffusers, from groundwater seepage, and atmospheric plume deposition. Human health risks are calculated for up to 16 pathways via exposure routes of dermal contact, ingestion, and inhalation. Ecological risks are evaluated for aquatic organisms by comparing the river water concentration to a water quality criterion for freshwater organisms. Monte Carlo analyses of ambient concentrations and temperatures can also be performed based on uniform distributions or user-defined histograms of varied parameters. To illustrate the various features of the model, RIVRISK was applied to a case study based on the Glen Lyn Power Plant located along the New River in Virginia.