An overview of methods for evaluating the attainment of cleanup standards for soils, solid media, and groundwater, EPA. Volumes 1, 2, and 3

The cleanup of a contaminated site is not complete until a defensible data-driven decision is made that residual concentrations of hazardous chemicals at the site are less than required by all applicable cleanup standards and guidelines. Statistical tests are important aids for making such decisions. They provide a formal and objective procedure for making quantitative decisions while taking into account the total variability among the measurements. They also control the probability of making incorrect decisions to acceptable levels, specified a priori.The use of selected statistical tests to evaluate the attainment of risk-based or reference-based cleanup standards for soil, solid media or groundwater is described in three reports published by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The purpose of this document is to provide an executive summary and overview of these three volumes for use by EPA Headquarters staff, EPA regional remedial project managers, potentially responsible parties for Superfund sites, the staff of State environmental protection agencies, and contractors for these groups. The primary goal of this overview is to provide the reader with an understanding of why these volumes are useful and how to use them.