The objective of many contaminant transport
studies is to not only compute contaminant concentrations or flux rates at
various locations in the environment, but to also compute the impact of these
contaminants on specific receptors (e.g., humans, wildlife, flora).
This is typically done by multiplying contaminant concentrations in environmental media (e.g., water, soil, air) by user-defined impact conversion factors. Impact conversion factors are species- and receptor-specific and have dimensions of impact per unit concentration.
GoldSim allows you to define specific receptors, and associate these with various pathways in your environmental system. The total impact to a receptor is then computed as the sum of the impacts associated with each pathway through which the receptor is exposed to the contaminant (e.g., drinking water from a well, breathing dust in the atmosphere, ingesting soil).
Impacts may be calculated as:
•ratios of contaminant concentrations to permissible limits (i.e., hazard quotients);
•health (e.g., cancer) risks; or
•radioactive doses.
The Receptor named “Public” is exposed to contaminants via the Cell pathways “Water_Supply_Well” and “Soil”.
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