Preliminary Assessment/Site

Inspection

Cleanup Process
PA/SI
NPL Listing
RI/FS
o
Scoping
o
Site Characterization
o
Development and Screening of Alternatives
o
Treatability Investigations
o
Detailed Analysis
ROD
RD/RA
Construction Completion
Post Construction Completion
NPL Delete
Reuse

The Preliminary Assessment (PA) and Site Inspection (SI) are used by EPA to evaluate the potential for a release of
hazardous substances from a site.

Preliminary Assessment:
An assessment of information about a site and its surrounding area. A Preliminary Assessment is designed to determine
whether a sites poses little or no threat to human health and the environment or if it does pose a threat, whether the threat
requires further investigation. PA investigations collect readily available information about a site and its surrounding area.
The PA is designed to distinguish, based on limited data, between sites that pose little or no threat to human health and the
environment and sites that may pose a threat and require further investigation. The PA also identifies sites requiring
assessment for possible response actions. If the PA results in a recommendation for further investigation, a Site Inspection
is performed. The EPA publication Guidance for Performing Preliminary Assessments Under CERCLA, September 1991, (NTIS
PB92-963303, EPA 9345.0-01A) provides more information on conducting PAs.

Site Inspection:
identifies sites that enter the NPL Site Listing Process and provides the data needed for Hazard Ranking System (HRS)
scoring (Introduction to the HRS) and documentation. SI investigators typically collect environmental and waste samples to
determine what hazardous substances are present at a site. They determine if these substances are being released to the
environment and assess if they have reached nearby targets. The SI can be conducted in one stage or two. The first stage,
or focused SI, tests hypotheses developed during the PA and can yield information sufficient to prepare an HRS scoring
package. If further information is necessary to document an HRS score, an expanded SI is conducted. The EPA
publication Guidance for Performing Site Inspections Under CERCLA; Interim Final, September 1992, (NTIS PB92-963375,
EPA 9345.1-05) provides more information on conducting SIs.

Information collected during the PA and SI is used to calculate an HRS score. Sites with an HRS score of 28.50 or greater are
eligible for listing on the NPL and require the preparation of an HRS scoring package.