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Brownfield Toxin Testing: A Community Guide to Acronyms and Why they matter.

Writer's picture: Adam Garrett-ClarkAdam Garrett-Clark

As a project manager for “The Prescott Experiment”  Neighborship's Site Investigation & Bioremediation Pilot at 1790 10th Street, and as someone who lived atop this brownfield site for over 6 years, I wanted to talk about some of the key takeaways from our Environmental Consultants "Workplan" document, which outlines the specific details around testing that was recently approved by the Department of Toxic Substances Control to allow us to begin testing. 


Infographic of The Prescott Experiment produced by Clarisa Quintanilla Lopez.
Infographic of The Prescott Experiment produced by Clarisa Quintanilla Lopez.

Project Recap: Neighborship, a Tiny House Community nonprofit, that leased land on a former junkyard made up of 6 parcels around the corner of 10th Street and Pine in West Oakland, is conducting a Site Investigation and Bioremediation Pilot on the brownfield site. The project includes comprehensive soil, groundwater, and soil vapor testing, a year-long experiment to remediate the soil with biological processes, and follow-up testing. 



The first stage of our project, the testing, is finally upon us! Interestingly, to add to the reasons why brownfields are nasty problems to tackle, it has taken nearly 9 months of paperwork meetings and bureaucracy to get to this starting stage of approval to begin testing. We signed a contract with an environmental consultant in June 2024 after taking about a month and a half to conduct our competitive bidding process to find the right consultant. Three months later in September, our consultants submitted the first draft of the “Workplan” a very technical and lengthy document that spells out all the details of the sampling we will conduct on the site and how those samples will be tested. After two rounds of revision requests from The Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), our third draft of our Testing Workplan was approved on Jan 8th! 



Reading through the drafts of the Workplan, I wanted to share some quirky brownfield jargon takeaways before offering a glossary of common acronyms you will find in these reports:


  1. We are receptors. In this world the technical term for anything that can be impacted by contaminants is a “receptor.” So that means People, animals, but also elements of the environment like a plant or body of water. In our case, the list of receptors includes neighbors, future visitors to our community garden, a potential resident of the tiny home on the site, and bioremediation technicians and construction workers to clean and build out the site. I never knew I was a receptor until now ;)

  2. Refusal is the term for a rock. Refusal is the term used to describe the situation of trying to drill deep into the soil and running into something like a rock that stops you. In the workplan it says that if a refusal is encountered the plan is to “step out” (move drilling location) 2 feet and try again. An interesting term to use for your next shovel-digging session.  

  3. This clause really stood out to me as the big why for all of this project: "Incremental cancer risks will be summed across all carcinogenic chemicals to determine the Site-wide cumulative risk and exposure pathways and non-cancer hazard quotients will be summed across all chemicals and exposure pathways to determine the hazard index for the Site." In simpler terms, this means the consultants will in their final reporting of the test results add up all the cancer risks from different chemicals found at the site, while also calculating other health risks that aren't cancer-related, to get a complete picture of potential health impacts from the brownfield. 


Key Terms You'll See in Reports

To help decode the technical language, here are some common acronyms you'll encounter:


  • PEA (Preliminary Environmental Assessment): The initial detailed assessment to determine if hazardous materials have been released at the site and if they pose risks.


  • CSM (Conceptual Site Model): A representation of how contamination might move through the site and how people might be exposed to it.


  • COPCs (Contaminants of Potential Concern): The specific chemical substances at the site that might pose health risks.


A Deeper Look at Two Key Contaminants

Two particularly important contaminants we're testing for are TPH and PCBs. Let's understand why they matter to our community:


TPH (Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons):

  • These are chemicals found in oil and gas products

  • They can cause immediate health effects like headaches and dizziness

  • Long-term exposure might affect the nervous system and increase cancer risk

  • They can enter our bodies through:

    • Breathing contaminated soil vapors

    • Skin contact with contaminated soil

    • Drinking affected groundwater


PCBs (Polychlorinated Biphenyls):

  • These are long-lasting industrial chemicals banned in 1979

  • They can accumulate in our body fat and stay there for years

  • Health effects can include:

    • Increased cancer risk

    • Impacts on hormones and reproduction

    • Effects on child development

    • Liver problems

    • Immune system impacts


What This Means for Our Community

If you've lived near or on a brownfield site, it's natural to have concerns. Here's what you should know:


For TPH exposure:

  • Brief contact with contaminated soil isn't usually cause for alarm

  • Regular exposure over months or years to high levels (above 100-500 parts per million in soil) is more concerning

  • If you smell petroleum odors or see contamination, take it seriously


For PCB exposure:

  • These chemicals can stay in your body for 10-15 years

  • Living near contaminated soil doesn't automatically mean high exposure

  • Exposure risk increases if you:

    • Grew vegetables in contaminated soil

    • Had regular direct contact with the soil

    • Had contaminated dust in your home


Taking Action

In the case of our Tiny Home Community which lasted from 2015-2022. We spread truckloads of free mulch from tree-cutting companies on the site to cap the potentially toxic soil and prevent exposure to harmful dust. We grew many vegetables at our site but always in raised beds with clean soil that we purchased. This is always a smart set of precautions in West Oakland. 


If you're concerned about past exposure:


  1. Keep a record of when and how long you lived near the site

  2. Document any health issues that seemed to start or worsen during that time

  3. Consult with your healthcare provider about:

    • Possible blood testing for PCBs

    • General health screening

    • Documentation of exposure history


Stay tuned for the Test Results from our first round of testing in the coming weeks! ... 

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