Hazard Ranking System Score

{
  "id": "MLC-T-ENV-012898",
  "term": "Hazard Ranking System Score",
  "field": "Environment",
  "definition": "The Hazard Ranking System (HRS) is the principal screening tool used by EPA to evaluate relative risks to public health and the environment associated with abandoned or uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. The HRS is a screening tool and not a site-specific risk assessment. The HRS calculates a site score between 0 and 100 based on the actual and/or potential releases of hazardous substances from the site through the air, surface water, or groundwater, or the actual and/or potential exposure of receptors by coming into contact with contamination. The score is based on many other factors such as density and proximity of human population to contamination. A site receiving an HRS score of 28.5 or above is eligible for placing on the National Priorities List (NPL). This score is the primary factor in deciding if the site should be on the NPL and has no significance as an indicator of a specific risk level to people or environmental receptors. The limited data used to develop the HRS score are designed to support site screening and are not intended to provide support for a quantitative risk assessment. The HRS, therefore, is a mechanism that allows EPA to make objective decisions on national priorities across sites nation-wide.",
  "abbreviation": "HRS Score",
  "subject": "Land, waste and cleanup",
  "references": [
    "Superfund Glossary"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/environment/hazard-ranking-system-score/"
}